Out of New Earth
by cojack
Summary: C/7. Set in AU#3 established in fanfiction stories "Alternatives" and "The River of Time." Picks up at the end of "Alternatives" and follows Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay, Seven of Nine, and the rest of the Borg refugees in their escape from New Earth and their startling discoveries thereafter.
1. Leaving the Surface

DISCLAIMER: It's Paramount's galaxy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: C/7. Set in AU#3 established in fanfiction stories "Alternatives" and "The River of Time." Picks up at the end of "Alternatives" and follows Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay, Seven of Nine, and the rest of the Borg refugees in their escape from New Earth and their startling discoveries thereafter.

#

OUT OF NEW EARTH

Stardate 57833.5 (AU#3)

# Chapter 1 – Leaving the Surface

…

"You are Chakotay?" she asked suddenly. Chakotay suspected she must have heard him and Kathryn introducing themselves when they had approached the camp earlier. He nodded.

"And you are from Earth, of Cholti ancestry?" Not quite, but close enough. Chakotay nodded again. Her knowledge of Earth cultures must be extensive, he supposed, the result of Borg assimilation.

She seemed to contemplate this for a time, but never took her intense gaze from Chakotay's face. He was unable to look away himself. There was something about her that seemed familiar.

"We are far from the sacred places of our grandfathers," she finally said. "We are far from the bones of our ancestors."

"I dreamt of you," Chakotay replied, for now he knew exactly who she was.

She had little memory of Annika, and when Chakotay suggested he simply call her Seven, she seemed satisfied.

Kathryn and Saychek, the nominal leader of the Borg group, were confident the surviving Borg data nodes contained the cure for the virus that inflicted them. After all, the Borg had assimilated Vidiians. With their working shuttle, they were hopeful they might leave New Earth within a few months.

Chakotay didn't feel as desperate, however, to leave now...

#

Captain Kathryn Janeway glanced across the Borg compound at her First Officer and the Borg drone who had become his shadow. They appeared to be examining what Chakotay had just written on a flat piece of earth with a stick. He seemed animated as he explained something, and Seven of Nine hung on his every word, her hands clasped behind her back. With a tinge of regret, Kathryn realized Chakotay was becoming more and more comfortable with his new companion. She hadn't seen him this happy in years. The two of them, Chakotay and Seven of Nine, had indeed become inseparable. Even Saychek was perplexed by the transformation in Seven of Nine. He had said so to Kathryn the day before. For five years, she had been an outsider in the group of Borg survivors. Sure, she had worked with them, but as the others regained their individuality, Seven of Nine had still remained more isolated and aloof. Now, with her First Officer, the drone who had been assimilated as a young child was finally opening up and interacting. Not only with Chakotay, but with everyone else as well.

"Shall we tour the sphere Captain?" Saychek asked.

Kathryn returned her attention to the Borg leader. It had been a busy few weeks. Almost from the start, the thought of finally escaping from New Earth had animated their actions. The Borg survivors were nearing the completion of a small ship that could carry them all, and with the shuttle's warp drive, they would have access to neighboring systems and could even contemplate continuing their voyage to the alpha quadrant. "Of course, but please Saychek, call me Kathryn."

"As you wish," Saychek replied, but that seemed unlikely as he nodded his head slightly and remained at attention. In fact, all the Borg survivors seemed to defer to her and Chakotay's authority. As drones, they simply carried out the wishes of the Hive Mind, and now that they were individuals, they seemed reluctant to enforce their will over others. None of them had been in any sort of command or authority position before being assimilated. Saychek speculated that perhaps this was the reason each of them had chosen not to fight or deactivate. In the days after the crash, many of the original surviving drones had attempted to establish order and take command of sorts. Battles ensued, and many drones were killed. Most of the remaining drones had eventually self terminated when it was clear they had been abandoned by the Collective. The end had happened suddenly, as if when the first decided to deactivate, it made it easier for others to make the same decision. By the close of that terrible day, only the six of them remained. It had taken them over a week to dispose of the bodies.

Saychek had been a farmer on a world in the delta quadrant, but his planet was many light years away. He had only been assimilated three months before the crash of the cube on New Earth, during a chaotic time when the Borg was attempting to find a weapon to combat a new species that threatened to destroy them completely. His world supported a pre-warp society, but at that time the Borg was desperate for new drones and any new knowledge or technology, and so the Hive Mind was assimilating indiscriminately. Four of the others had similar stories, assimilated within the past year from worlds scattered about the delta quadrant. Two were from Norcadia, Kizati and Lemore. They hadn't known of the other before their world was assimilated, but now, like Chakotay and Seven of Nine, they too were inseparable. Ak was a Brumalin, a non-humanoid species from another pre-warp civilization. He stood a good half meter taller than the rest of them, and walked on four spider-like appendages. His body not covered by Borg armor looked soft, but in fact was an exoskeleton as hard as the armor itself. He was strong, not adverse to work, and spoke very little. Janeway hadn't interacted with him much, but he always seemed to be in the right place when needed. Minnik, on the other hand, shared her opinion often. She was Kazon, from the Nistrim sect. She had memories of the Nistrim's encounter with _Voyager_, but no desire to return to the Nistrim or the Kazon. She was quite content to remain with the group. In fact, all the ex-Borg drones weren't eager to return to their homeworlds, unsure and frightened at what they might find if they did. Some had even expressed an interest in escaping to the alpha quadrant.

And then there was Seven of Nine.

"I could speak with her," Saychek offered, noticing the Captain had returned her gaze to the two across the compound.

"What do you suppose they talk about?" Kathryn mused.

"You should go and ask if you think it important," Saychek replied diplomatically.

Kathryn waved her hand and started moving in the direction of the Borg sphere being repaired nearby. Perhaps it was the novelty of meeting someone new that energized the relationship. Regardless, she and Chakotay had decided long ago that any romantic liaison between the two of them was doomed to failure, and instead had nurtured their strong friendship. Chakotay's relationship with Seven or anyone else did not put that into jeopardy. "No," she finally said, "it's none of my business. Come, show me what's new in the sphere."

The debris field of the cube's crash extended for miles in the directions both backwards along the final orbit trajectory and forward. Hundreds of pieces littered the forest floor. The largest intact portion of the cube, however, came to rest in this spot adjacent to the compound the Borg survivors had established and occupied for the past five years. During their stay, the six remaining drones had busied themselves by reassembling and repairing a small sphere that had also survived the crash, essentially intact. It was approximately a hundred meters in diameter and rested in a depression such that only two-thirds of its diameter showed.

"We had no working warp drive," Saychek remarked, "but Seven of Nine was confident we could construct one from the debris, so we continued to repair the sphere."

Kathryn noted the pride in his voice as they both examined the Borg craft before them. The stark grey-black metal of the spherical outline seemed out of place, being surrounded by the encroaching jungle, the top rising above the forest canopy.

"As it turned out, the task was more difficult than anticipated and we have yet to build our warp dirve," Saychek continued, "but with your shuttlecraft's warp dirve now installed, we should be capable of warp speed once we obtain orbit."

"And there is room inside for our shuttlecraft?"

Saychek smiled a wide toothy grin. "We've done a lot in the past week. Let me give you the tour, Captain," he said, and motioned to an opening in the sphere about five meters above the ground level that could be accessed from a ramp. Kathryn nodded, and the two of them strode up into the sphere.

"This access port enters directly into the new cargo bay of the sphere," Saychek remarked once inside. He pointed above them, and indeed there was room for perhaps three shuttlecraft in the cavernous space. "There is a single bay door, just above us. When in space, this area will lack artificial gravity, and our shuttlecraft can be brought in and connected to one of those docking rings above us."

Kathryn nodded satisfactorily, and also noted Saychek's use of the pronoun 'our.' In the few short weeks they had been together, the Borg survivors and she and Chakotay had already formed a cohesive group. It was a promising sign. "So, when we do use the sphere's thrusters and impulse drive to obtain orbit, we'll need someone to pilot the shuttlecraft into orbit as well to rendezvous."

"Precisely."

They moved to the far end of the cargo bay and climbed up a ladder that was now more like a staircase in the planet's gravity. The corridor beyond was illuminated in the dull green light typical of all Borg craft. Saychek quickly turned to the Captain and said, "Don't worry, Kizati is working on supplementing the lighting throughout the sphere to more duplicate the ambient lighting of a G2 class star. This corridor is at the lower priority in that transition, and so the conversion has not yet been made. I believe she said it will be completed by tonight."

Sure enough, up ahead, the lighting of the corridor brightened to a warmer color. The corridor was along the outer perimeter of the sphere, and stretched ahead curving around for three quarters of the circumference back to the cargo bay.

"This level has additional crew quarters," Saychek announced. "But will be unoccupied for now. We can use them as lab space or however we see fit." After three doors, another door led to an elevator. Saychek motioned Kathryn inside. "As you might remember, there are five levels in all and we entered on the second level from the bottom. Each of these three mid levels now have nine quarters each, but the ones we've outfitted for our immediate occupancy are on the next two levels up. The lowest level allows access to the core of the sphere and the engines. The highest level will serve as a command center."

"Is this how a normal Borg sphere is laid out?" Kathryn asked as the doors slid shut.

"In form yes, but not in function," Saychek replied. "A sphere such as this does not have a centralized control center or a cargo bay and might hold a hundred or more drones, so much of the space that held regeneration alcoves was converted to other uses. Kizati and Lemore are responsible for the general layout, it being now similar to Norcadian vessels."

"To Federation vessels as well," Kathryn remarked. "A bridge on top, crew quarters and working space in the middle, and engineering below."

They exited the lift on the next level. Across from them was a doorway to the outer perimeter of the sphere. The crew quarters were towards the interior. Saychek noticed Kathryn's gaze to the opposite wall and remarked, "access to weapons, tractor beams, transporters. They are distributed around the circumference of the sphere, at what you might think of as the equator." He turned to the quarters beside the lift, "Captain, these are your quarters. Commander Chakotay's are on the opposite side of this lift."

They entered the room. It was spacious, but sparsely furnished. A small desk and chair, and a bed and mattress salvaged from the shuttlecraft close to the floor. Towards the back of the room was another door that appeared to lead to a lavatory. On one wall there was a pillar that could be used to access ship's systems and two Borg regeneration alcoves. Kathryn raised her eyebrows. "In case I entertain guests?"

"We kept alcoves in each of the quarters. We could remove them if you wish, but in the last few weeks we've concentrated our renovations on supplying for your other basic needs."

"It's fine," Kathryn remarked. A bit stark, but a place of her own none the less. At least it was well lit, and perhaps with her personal items it would feel more like home. Chakotay and Seven had returned to their original landing site to retrieve items that he or Janeway had wanted, and she noticed a few containers stacked at one end of the room that undoubtedly held these things. She would unpack later. "Let's see the bridge."

Kathryn strode out of the room followed closely by Saychek. They returned to the same lift and Kathryn instinctively said "bridge." Nothing happened.

"We could add a voice activation system if you'd like, Captain. For now, you can select the level by pressing one of these five buttons on the rear facing wall."

Janeway nodded, and pressed the button Saychek indicated. It was the rightmost button, so apparently top to bottom was indicated by right to left. The lift swiftly moved up the remaining two levels and deposited them in a large circular room. Around the perimeter of the room stood a dozen pillars; the Borg workstations. A final pillar stood in the center of the room, and next to this a crude chair that could swivel the full three hundred and sixty degrees had been placed. The chair appeared to be an afterthought, perhaps installed just recently.

"We hadn't originally allowed for comfort in this space," Saychek remarked. "Drones usually don't sit. Ak is going to install chairs at all the stations to enable either sitting or standing, depending on the preference of the user."

"Can Ak even sit?" Kathryn asked. His physiology was such that sitting might not be an option.

"I don't know," Saychek responded. "Regardless, he is fabricating the chairs now and should be completed by tonight. All ships functions can be accessed and controlled from this room, although command could be transferred to any pillar in the ship if desired." He pointed to the pillar and chair in the center of the room. "This will be your post, Captain. I believe it desirable for you to take command of our vessel with Commander Chakotay remaining as our First Officer."

"The rest of your group has agreed to this?" Kathryn asked.

"Of course," Saychek confirmed. He stood at attention, still near the entrance to the lift.

Kathryn nodded and looked about the bridge. "So eight of us," she remarked. "What will be the function for the rest of the crew?"

Saychek placed his hands behind his back and stepped up beside Janeway. "Chakotay would serve as tactical officer and navigator in addition to First Officer. Seven of Nine has retained the most knowledge of power and propulsion systems. It was she who oversaw the installation of the shuttlecraft's warp drive. I suggest she be in charge of engineering. Minnik could also be assigned to engineering and be trained by Seven of Nine. It will be important to have some redundancy and they would also operate ship's sensors. Either Kizati or Lemore was once a pilot on a Norcadian vessel, I do not recall which one. I suggest both be assigned piloting duties."

Janeway nodded. "That leaves you and Ak. I would like you to be my Second Officer, and shadow Chakotay as my tactical officer and navigator."

"As you wish," Saychek replied, bowing as he did so.

"Ak will be security." Janeway shook her head. "He's big enough, and imposing enough, to be the entire security team, but I suppose we'll all be security if we're ever boarded by a hostile force." She scanned the bridge once more. "I'm impressed. You've made many improvements since our last tour. You say we're ready?"

"By tomorrow morning Captain, the ship will be ready."

"Then let's assemble in the compound tomorrow morning for our debriefing and final farewell to New Earth. It's time we get started."

#

Captain Janeway scanned each of the faces of the small group before her. "Once in orbit, we'll spend some time getting used to our new ship," she continued. "Eventually, however, I intend to resume our voyage back to the alpha quadrant. My hope is we'll possibly discover other abandoned Borg vessels where we can salvage a trans-warp drive to help us speed things up a bit."

Chakotay nodded, but the rest of the crew, the former Borg drones, stood impassively. Janeway had wondered if any of them would object to her plan to go to the alpha quadrant since only Seven of Nine could claim it as her home. Saychek, sensing the Captain desired a response, said, "we will do as you command Captain."

Janeway turned to Chakotay. "For our departure to orbit, I would like you to pilot the shuttlecraft. We'll rendezvous in space and dock the shuttle into the sphere's cargo bay before leaving orbit."

"I will accompany the Commander," Seven of Nine interjected.

Inseparable indeed, Janeway thought. "I'd like you to be with the sphere Seven," she replied. "You have the most knowledge of the propulsion systems, and we might need you during the ascent and orbital injection."

Seven nodded stiffly, obviously not pleased with that decision, but willing to comply.

"I could pilot the shuttle," Lemore suggested. "Commander Chakotay could then be on the sphere with Seven."

Interesting. Even Lemore recognized the bond that had formed between the two of them, and was perhaps sympathetic because of his relationship with the other Norcadian. Janeway nodded. "That would be fine. OK with you Commander?"

Chakotay nodded as well.

"What is the designation of the sphere?" Minnik suddenly inquired.

"Sphere two-two-seven-six," Seven replied automatically.

"No, that's not what I mean" Minnik persisted. "Isn't it customary for a ship to have a name? A proper name I mean. In the Nistrim, the ships would often be named after former Kazon majes who died with honor."

"How about Voyager?" Kizati suggested.

Captain Janeway shook her head. "Not Voyager. I'm hoping the original _Voyager_ is out there somewhere, and we might even be able to catch up to them if we get a trans-warp drive for our ship. Let's think of another name."

"How about, Phoenix," Seven suggested. She turned to Kizati and Lemore. "Phonetically, it is similar to the word 'hope' in the Norcadian central valley language, but it also refers to a long-lived bird in Earth mythology that obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor."

Janeway had to hand it to Seven, the name seemed appropriate. Of course, it was also the name of Zefram Cochrane's first warp ship, but many Star Fleet vessels had been named after a predecessor. Janeway looked about the group. They all seemed satisfied with that choice. "If there are no objections then, our ship is thus named." She then looked beyond the group to the compound around them. It had been her home for the past few weeks, and of course the former Borg drones home for the past five years. The time had now come for them to leave New Earth. "Gather your remaining personal items and assemble on the _Phoenix_. We leave in ten minutes. Dismissed."

Everyone but Chakotay and Seven of Nine moved off towards the wreckage of the cube. Seven appeared to hesitate, looking back and forth between Chakotay and Janeway. Finally she faced Chakotay. "Chakotay, I do have one item I would like to retrieve. It is called a geode, a hollow stone I collected soon after the crash. The outside is rough and blacked by its volcanic origins, but inside is an intriguing violet crystalline structure. I will rejoin you aboard the sphere."

"Of course Seven," Chakotay replied. "I will see you shortly."

Seven appeared reluctant to leave, but then turned on her heel and move swiftly away, following the others towards the cube wreckage. Both Chakotay and Janeway watched her go. When she was out of earshot, Janeway turned to Chakotay and said, "are you certain this relationship between you and Seven of Nine is a good thing?"

"Relationship?" Chakotay asked, a bit taken aback.

Janeway grinned. "I'm not blind, Chakotay. The two of you have been attached these past few weeks, as if with an invisible tether. I have hardly seen one of you without the other close by."

Chakotay ran his fingers through his hair and turned away. Eventually he nodded and returned his gaze towards the retreating figure of Seven, who was now just entering the cube wreckage. "I feel, drawn to her," he confessed. "If you recall, I dreamed of her. It was that dream that initiated this whole quest of ours to find the Borg crash site. I believe we have a shared destiny. She's caught between the little girl who was assimilated all those years ago, and the Borg drone she was forced to become. She needs a friend. Someone to help her discover that little girl inside her, and the woman she's become."

Janeway raised her eyebrows. "And you are that someone?"

Chakotay didn't hold back. "Yes, I believe so."

"Are you sure this is a healthy relationship Chakotay? Saychek tells me that for the past five years she isolated herself and rarely joined them in a group. Now, she's reluctant to let you out of her sight."

Chakotay nodded, obviously thinking through these same things. "We have developed a strong bond between us in a short time. Perhaps its me that doesn't want to let her out of my sight."

Janeway was not convinced.

"Every fiber of my being, however, tells me it is right," Chakotay continued. "I intend to help her discover her humanity."

"She is still basically a Borg drone with technology regulating many of her internal functions. Even her brain has Borg implants and is influenced by the machinery. In the five years they have been here, not once have any of them taken steps to remove their Borg armor or components."

"None of them have the knowledge on how to do that."

"Chakotay," Janeway persisted. "The same Borg data nodes that contained the cure for this virus we contracted all those years ago could have guided them in removing some of the Borg technology. For whatever reason, they have all chosen to remain Borg."

"Do you not trust them Captain?"

Janeway shook her head. "None of them have given even the slightest hint of deception or ulterior motives, but in truth, we hardly know them. All I'm saying is to be careful. We are dealing with the Borg, and the individuals we know in them now could just as easily be reassimilated and bent on our destruction. Seven of Nine might wish to become human, but that might end up being impossible."

"I think you're wrong Kathryn. You might only see the Borg technology on the outside, but inside she is struggling and needs me. I believe she's like that geode she's gone to retrieve. Seven is highly intelligent and curious about humanity. We've talked at length these past few weeks, and I do believe she wishes to become more human, and I intend to help her do it."

Kathryn decided to let it go at that. She worried for her First Officer, and perhaps there was still a tinge of jealousy that she couldn't quite shake. The two saw Kizati and Lemore exiting the cube and moving towards the _Phoenix_, so she and Chakotay moved off in that direction as well. At the entrance to the sphere, Lemore turned to Kizati and each touched the other's shoulder, a simple, yet tender gesture, made all the more significant given their Borg appearance. Lemore then continued past to the shuttlecraft and Kizati climbed the ramp into the sphere. Ak was already waiting at the top of the ramp, as if checking everyone's identification as they boarded. His two forelegs tapped against the deck plating, perhaps in nervous anticipation, Kathryn mused. Kathryn started up the ramp as well, but Chakotay stopped at the base. She sighed. He was obviously going to wait for Seven of Nine.

In a short time, the seven of them riding in the sphere were assembled on the bridge. Lemore was already in orbit on the shuttle awaiting the rendezvous. "Are the thrusters and impulse drive on-line?" Captain Janeway queried.

"Ready," Seven replied from her station.

"Are we all sealed up?"

"We're all set Captain," Saychek replied. "Artificial gravity and inertial dampers are online and set to take over after initial thrust. Environmental control has already been activated. Power systems are engaged and fully autonomous."

Janeway frowned. Saychek had answered all her remaining questions, as if anticipating her checklist. Inexplicitly, now that the moment had arrived, she felt reluctant to go. New Earth had been their home now for over seven years, and although at times it had felt like a prison, she did have fond memories of her time here. She glanced at Chakotay who gave her an encouraging nod. It was time. "Disengage mooring clamps and full thrusters and impulse drive to orbit," she ordered.

The clamps disengaged and thrusters lifted the _Phoenix_ off the ground. A few moments later, when the ship had cleared the treetops of the surrounding forest, the inertial dampers and artificial gravity were activated and impulse drive engaged. Immediately, the sphere accelerated rapidly away from the surface, the occupants inside protected from the severe acceleration by the inertial dampers. The shock waves from the impulse drive tossed the nearby trees about, and they swayed wildly sending a flock of birds on a panicked flight away from the compound. Soon after, the sound of a double sonic boom echoed about the surrounding forest, the _Phoenix_ now a streaking fireball of light high in the eastern sky.

A short time after that, the sphere was above the atmosphere and on its way to rendezvous with the shuttlecraft. The _Phoenix_ had achieved orbit about New Earth

#

Author's note: So, "The Third Path" didn't seem to generate as much interest as "Healing Wounds," but I'm forging ahead anyway and do intend to eventually complete all the "Alternatives" stories. I'm actually a little more excited about the prospects for this current story, so hopefully that will translate into more reviews (_always_ appreciated, and again _thank you_ to everyone who has left reviews, favorited, and/or followed any of my C/7 stories in the past – it is a great encouragement). I'm envisioning about eight chapters with some twists and turns along the way. I'm particularly looking forward to writing and revealing something planned in the fourth and fifth chapters… 8-) I hope you enjoy (and are inspired to write a review, join the C/7 community (I _know_ there are more than 13 of us out there!), or perhaps even write a fan fiction story of your own if you haven't yet tried).


	2. A Ghost from the Past

# Chapter 2 – A Ghost from the Past

Seven of Nine waited outside the door to Chakotay's quarters. The crew of the _Phoenix_ had adopted the standard twenty-four hour day of Earth as ship's time. This happened to be similar to the length of New Earth's day, which was a little under twenty-five hours, and so adjusting to the new day length posed little difficulty. Chakotay's routine was to wake up and prepare and eat breakfast at 0700 and start his shift on the bridge at 0800. For the past several mornings, he arrived at Seven's quarters at about 0720 leaving only forty minutes for them to be together before his shift began. They had more time together in the evening, from 2000 to the time he needed to start regenerating at about 2300. She only required four hours of regenerating each day, and since she was in charge of engineering, had made sure her time off and regeneration schedule coincided with his. She checked her internal chronometer. It was now 0655. She engaged the chime on Chakotay's door.

The door slid open and Seven entered Chakotay's room. A dim light automatically lit and she could see Chakotay leaning up on his elbows on his sleeping mattress, still half asleep.

"It is just me," Seven remarked. "You still have five minutes to complete your regeneration cycle. I thought I would come to prepare your morning nutritional supplement at this time to maximize our time together." Seven moved over to the replicator near the Borg alcoves and began to enter in commands. She sensed Chakotay had not laid back down and turned to face him again. "I will have your breakfast prepared and ready for you to ingest when you awaken at 0700. We can then converse while you eat. Please, complete your regeneration cycle."

Chakotay smiled and swung his legs over the side of his bed and sat up. "No, I'm awake."

Seven of Nine looked distressed. "I did not intend for you to terminate your cycle prematurely. I simply desired to spend more time with you in the morning, and thought if I prepared your meal beforehand, we could have those extra minutes together. There is no replicator in my quarters, or I would have prepared it there."

Chakotay stood now and stretched, and then returned his attention to Seven. "I tell you what, I will spend that time getting changed into my uniform, and then we'll have even more time together since I won't have to do it after breakfast."

Seven nodded satisfactorily. "An excellent suggestion; you may proceed." She turned back to the replicator and continued entering in commands. She first accessed the replicator's log to see what he had prepared the previous few days that the _Phoenix_ had been in space, and consulted the options contained in the replicator to prepare a similar supplement. The options were the full list of programmed possibilities that had been downloaded from the Federation shuttlecraft. Chakotay had retreated into the lavatory to change.

When he emerged, he was in uniform and Seven had the small table prepared for him. He sat and then motioned for Seven to sit as well. She had discovered Chakotay preferred it this way, for her to sit when he was sitting, so she pulled up the other chair and sat across from him.

"What's this?" Chakotay inquired.

"Juice made from the liquid and pulp from the inside of a citrus fruit and a piece of wheat bread with a hole cut out and fried with the egg of the Earth species gallus domesticus in the center," Seven replied.

"Orange juice and some sort of eggs," Chakotay corrected. He cut off a corner and took a bite, nodding his head approvingly. "Very good. You'll have to help me select other meals on future mornings."

"I will. I believe the 'some sort of eggs' is called a Toad in the Hole, according to the database, although the latter appellation apparently also refers to other regional Earth dishes as well."

"A Toad in the Hole?" Chakotay remarked and laughed. "I think I've lost my appetite." Seven looked alarmed, but Chakotay shook his head and smiled, "I'm only joking Seven."

Seven shifted uneasily. Chakotay's jokes often eluded her.

"Any new sensor readings during the night?" Chakotay asked as he took a sip from his juice.

"I have not yet talked to Minnik this morning," Seven replied, "but I suspect there is nothing new to report for she would have alerted me. We continue to follow the warp trail we discovered after leaving the vicinity of New Earth. It has a definite Federation signature. There is a system ahead and within a light year of our current position that appears was the destination of the ship we are following, and we should be within that system by late today."

"Any new information on how old the signature is?"

"No. As I've informed the Captain, it is hard to say how old it might be. In some regions of space, warp signals can persist for years, even decades. It appears that this region of space displays just those conditions. If that is the case, then Captain Janeway's hunch that it is _Voyager_'s signature might prove to be correct."

"If it is, I think she's interested in following that trail for as long as possible," Chakotay remarked. "Hoping to perhaps see what the _Voyager_ crew saw seven years ago when they passed through."

"It is likely the conditions that preserve these warp signatures will not extend for too much longer," Seven commented.

Chakotay continued to eat, and Seven decided it was time to broach a subject that had been occupying her mind of late. She placed her hands on the table between them, but then upon seeing the flat gray-black Borg armor that covered most of her skin, she removed her hands and placed them in her lap. Her appearance had always been irrelevant to her, but now when she caught sight of her reflection, she couldn't help but notice she did not appear… human. Before, she never noticed the ocular implant that covered much of the left side of her face. The improved vision the device provided allowed her to conduct intricate work as well at see at great distances. She had never been conscious before of how she looked, but as she spent more time with Chakotay, her appearance to him took on a more significant meaning.

"Is there something wrong?" Chakotay asked studying Seven's expression, his fork paused midway between his plate and mouth.

Seven considered his question. "Yes, I believe so," she finally responded. How to express what she wanted to say? She had been an individual for five years, and yet lacked experience in conversing with others. It was a simple enough question, so she might as well come right to it. "I do enjoy your company, and by all appearances, you enjoy mine."

"Yes I do."

"Why?"

"Is it not enough that I do?"

"I must understand why," Seven persisted. "I have been surprised by my attraction to you. At first I thought it was because you are human, and I was once human, and I desired more information than the Borg data nodes contained. Seeing that I do not have any comparable emotional attachment to Captain Janeway, however, I've dismissed this reasoning. I can not explain the need I now feel to be close to you, and yet I also can not ignore it."

"Seven," Chakotay said, placing his fork on his plate. "You weren't _once_ human, you _are_ human."

"Forty-two percent of my mass is made of Borg technology," Seven protested. "Vital biological systems, such as digestion and reproduction have been rendered dormant. Other parts of my human anatomy have been removed, such as my left eye and optic nerve. These are gone forever."

"Perhaps, but not all your humanity has been rendered dormant. You have a mind, and you have human feelings and emotions."

"I have considered this. My attraction must have a biological origin. At some level, because our species has two sexes, and we are of the opposite sex, I suspect my body is responding to a sexual attraction. While this might explain my emotions, in the current circumstances, I can not believe it is reciprocated and explains yours."

"There is much more to it than that Seven, and you also underestimate yourself."

"I find that hard to believe. I am Borg. Given the history of contact between the Borg and humanity, you must view me physically with disgust."

"Well you are wrong on both counts. For one, as I said before, you are not Borg. You do not think as the Hive Mind, you think as an individual. Our discussions have ranged from the mundane to the sublime; philosophy and history and psychology. You may be stuck with Borg technology throughout your body and encased in a Borg exoskeleton, but you are every bit human. And second, I don't look on you with disgust. During these past few weeks, I feel I've gotten to know you. When I look at you, I don't see the technology, the Borg to be feared and shunned; I see what's inside, the woman who I want to get to know better."

Seven let this sink in and Chakotay picked back up his fork and continued his meal. She had started to have discussions with others on the crew, and yet none held the same meaning as when she spoke with Chakotay. For five years she had studied the Borg data nodes, learning all she could about what it was to be human, but never shared any of it with her companions, until now. Finally she said, "In the current circumstances, we can't possibly act on our physical impulses."

"But perhaps we are, by simply wishing to be in each other's presence," Chakotay retorted. He thought of something Captain Janeway had said to him a few days before and added, "and it might not always be this way. Do the Borg data nodes contain information on how Borg components might be removed from a drone?"

"Yes. Borg components are removed and replaced all the time."

"Why during these past five years did none of you remove any of your Borg components?"

Seven hesitated. "I can not speak for the others," she finally said. "For me, there seemed little point. The regeneration alcoves in the damaged cube were still operational and would thus tend to my physical needs indefinitely. The most efficient course of action seemed to be to remain as I was and help devise a means of escape from the planet's surface. I believe we would have eventually succeeded in constructing a warp core of our own if you hadn't come along."

"Are you unhappy then that Captain Janeway and I showed up and just gave you a warp core?"

"Of course not, that is not what I meant," Seven shot back and then looked at Chakotay more intently. He may feel he's gotten to know her better, but the reverse was also true. His face held back a smile, but she could see by some wrinkles about his eyes that he thought her reaction humorous and had hoped for such. "I am glad to see I reacted just as you hoped. I am not used to subterfuge, and so you must know that I of course am pleased by your presence and would not want it any other way." She thought for a moment, and then added, "I believe my initial assessment was flawed. I can think of reasons I would like to have the Borg armor and components removed and indeed, I would like the current circumstances to be altered."

"Perhaps we can start looking into that," Chakotay replied. "It might be something the others would be interested in as well."

Seven nodded. "I will access the Borg data nodes during my free time while you are regenerating. Perhaps I will have something to report tomorrow morning."

"That's a great idea." Chakotay had finished eating and stood up. "I thought we'd go for a walk before my shift begins and you could show me the shield grid along the periphery. As tactical officer, it seems to me I should have some working knowledge of critical systems."

Seven stood as well. "Of course; I'd be happy to comply." They both stepped out into the corridor and Chakotay followed Seven in the direction towards the cargo bay.

"Have you given some thought to the question I asked you yesterday?" Chakotay asked.

"I have, from the category of the mundane no doubt. After reviewing all electromagnetic wavelengths between three hundred and seven hundred nanometers at five nanometer increments and five, ten, twenty, and fifty nanometer widths, as well as the same in absorption, I would say the one that elicited the greatest emotional response is four hundred and thirty seven in emission with a twenty nanometer width."

Chakotay thought for a moment. "So, your favorite would thus be blue?"

"That is what I just said," Seven replied, with a twinkle in her eye. "Although, I would characterize it more as a royal blue."

#

Seven of Nine exited the lift into the lowest level of the _Phoenix_ which they now referred to as engineering. Minnik was working at one of the pillars, overseeing a diagnostics of the propulsion system, and turned to acknowledge her entrance. The two would work together for two hours until Minnik's shift ended. Seven was several minutes late to her own duty shift and felt the need to explain her tardiness. "I apologize for arriving late. I was conducting some research with the Borg data nodes."

"No doubt with Chakotay," Minnik replied, with what Seven detected as a note of sarcasm. Seven had discovered that Minnik freely shared her opinion, whether asked for or not. In general, however, she was quite satisfied with the work produced by the other member of the 'engineering team', as Captain Janeway referred to the two of them, and even enjoyed her company when the two of them worked together.

"In fact, I was not with Chakotay. I was alone and investigating the procedures for removing Borg armor and components. I only intended to stay for a few minutes, but lost track of the time."

"Removing Borg components?" Minnik asked, stopping her work at the pillar. "Is that possible?"

"Yes, I believe so. With the proper medical supervision, it should be possible to remove most of the Borg armor and many of the components and implants," Seven replied.

Minnik backed up from her workstation and faced Seven. "Do you believe your Chakotay has this medical knowledge?"

Seven paused from initiating a terminal link with a nearby pillar. "He is not my Chakotay," she responded, sounding a bit flustered. "He is simply Chakotay. And no, I do not think he currently possesses the level of knowledge necessary. In fact, I do not believe any of us have sufficient knowledge to conduct the operation successfully."

Minnik returned to her workstation, but clearly was distracted from her work. "An intriguing thought," she finally said. "I wonder if we could remove all of our implants."

Since Seven had already expressed her belief that she thought they could remove much of the Borg technology, she decided Minnik's query was simply a rhetorical question. She completed her link to the workstation and checked the propulsion system's status. Everything was operating within normal parameters, so she turned to Minnik and asked "how is the propulsion systems diagnostics going?"

"It is almost complete. No anomalies have been detected. For now, the warp drive can be operated indefinitely if we maintain this speed," Minnik said. She continued to work on something, but then added, "I was once in love with a maje in the Ogla sect of the Kazon, and he was in love with me."

Seven again stopped her work, trying to deduce why Minnik would make such a statement that at first seemed a non sequitur. "Are you implying I'm in love with Chakotay?" she finally asked.

Minnik laughed. It was an odd sound, made all the more curious coming from an ex-Borg drone. Minnik did not have an ocular implant as Seven did, and so her head, although hairless and discolored as true for all drones, was relatively free of Borg technology. Her right forearm, however, had been replaced by a mechanism used for managing distribution nodes on Borg vessels, and of course she was covered with the same armor. Seven realized she had never heard Minnik laugh before. "Are you implying you're not?" Minnik said.

Seven hardly knew. She had no experience to draw from. Was the feeling of love nothing more than emotions that resulted when particular chemicals were produced in higher amounts in the brain? How was it possible for her to feel this love if many of her brain functions were regulated by Borg implants? In comparison to how she felt about the other male members of _Phoenix_'s crew, she most definitely felt differently about Chakotay. Something else that Minnik had implied was demanding her attention. "Do you believe Chakotay is in love with me?"

Minnik smiled, and returned to her station. "I do," she eventually replied.

This alarmed Seven. She would have to be more attentive, but how could Chakotay possibly love her? Their conversation from the morning echoed in her mind. Was it possible?

"Come here," Minnik said. "I have something I would like for you to see. I've been experimenting with the long-range sensors, to try and detect what might be in the system we are heading towards. I took your idea of using a triaxilating poleron pulse in subspace, but averaged together multiple pulses in a phased array to increase the resolution caused by the extended baseline of our approach."

"An intriguing idea," Seven responded. She approached Minnik's workstation. Although it had never been stated outright, Minnik had taken on the role as Seven's subordinate. Seven had been teaching her what she knew of the sphere's propulsion systems and sensors. For her part, Minnik had been an eager and capable student. "What have you found?"

"As you know, we have detected ten planets in the system. I examined the space around each planet and have now also detected what appears to be a ship in low orbit about the fourth planet."

Seven moved over to Minnik's side and examined her data. She was impressed at the ingenuity of the approach. "Have you reconstructed an image?"

"I have. The resolution in one dimension is much better than the other, determined by our approach vector and the orientation of the system. All we can get is a profile for now." Minnik entered some commands and pulled up an image on the workstation's screen.

Seven's human eye widened. She immediately tapped the comm system connected to the workstation. "Engineering to bridge."

"Go ahead," Captain Janeway's responded.

"We have something important to show you Captain."

#

The eight crew members of the _Phoenix_ were all on the bridge, even those not officially on duty. They had been traveling at maximum warp now for two hours, and the system's fourth planet lay ahead. They had been pushing the engines to their limit, and Seven was relieved that they would soon be able to drop from warp for a time after obtaining orbit. She examined the sensor output again.

"The target should be exiting the terminator now Captain," Seven remarked.

"On screen," Captain Janeway responded. There wasn't a single main view screen, as on most Federation star ships, but Seven understood that the Captain wished to see the orbiting spacecraft that Minnik had discovered earlier on her own monitor. She entered the appropriate commands and had the image of the long-range imaging sensors displayed on all of the workstation monitors. Someone gasped when the image was revealed, and Seven realized it was Captain Janeway herself.

The identification of the vessel was unmistakable. It was _Voyager_. It slowly rotated end over end, obviously in an unstable attitude configuration, and the port nacelle dangled off to the side at an odd angle. The energy output was non existent.

_Voyager_ was dead in space.


	3. Repairs and Plans

# Chapter 3 – Repairs and Plans

Everyone was still present on the bridge to witness the examination of this ghost from the past. Saychek examined the readout more closely. "I think that's done it Captain," he finally said.

Before them was _Voyager_. By using the _Phoenix_'s tractor beam, they had successfully stabilized _Voyager_'s attitude. The extent of the damage was now clear. Hull breaches were evident across the saucer section, although once power was restored, none appeared too large for a force field to contain. The port nacelle, however, was a different story. It would require significant repairs, and with just the eight of them, that would require time.

"Lifesigns?" Captain Janeway asked, her voice catching on the word.

"There are no signs of life," Seven answered from her station. Captain Janeway had asked the same question soon after they arrived, and Seven's answer hadn't changed. She decided to expand a bit. "In fact, there is no evidence of any biological material, living or dead."

"What about on the planet?" Janeway asked.

"The planet below is L-class, and so does not support life. There are no energy signatures nor evidence of any artificial structures. In fact, no planets in this system support life of any kind."

"Can we send an away team to _Voyager_?"

Seven examined the sensor readings more closely. "Much of ship appears to be open to the vacuum of space. There are only pockets of breathable atmosphere, and this it at very low pressure."

"We can go over and operate in a vacuum for a limited time," Saychek said, obviously referring to the ex-Borg drones.

"We also have two environmental suits in the shuttle," Chakotay added. He turned to Saychek. "If we are to communicate, however, even you will need a mask to provide some atmosphere to carry the sound of your voice. I think we have some masks that might serve that purpose in the shuttle as well."

Captain Janeway continued to examine the image of _Voyager_ before her, a frown deepening on her face. What had happened? Where was her crew?

"Saychek, you have the bridge. Stay here with Kizati. The rest of us will examine _Voyager_ from stem to stern. Kizati, you'll keep a transporter lock on us at all times."

"Captain," Saychek replied. "I have studied Star Fleet regulations. Possible threats aboard _Voyager_ have not yet been established. Your place, as Captain, is on this ship."

"Not this time," Janeway replied, with steel in her voice. "Minnik, you're with me. We'll start on the bridge." She turned to Chakotay and hesitated. He stood close to Seven of Nine. Like two planets whose gravitational fields inexorably drew them closer together. "Chakotay, you and Seven start in the shuttle bay and work your way forward. Lemore, you and Ak start in engineering. Assess what you can with regard to re-establishing power."

Each acknowledged their assignment. They all first went to the shuttle in the _Phoenix_'s cargo bay to retrieve the environmental suits and masks, and then each group beamed over to _Voyager_ in pairs.

"Can you hear me," Seven asked. Her voice sounded distant, as if she was across the room speaking softly, but it was clear enough through the environmental suit's comm. system.

"I can," Chakotay replied. "And you me?" Chakotay aimed his light towards Seven. She stood in the center of the shuttle bay. The bay doors were open to space, and inside the Delta Flyer and remaining two shuttles were absent.

Seven nodded and turned on her own light. They moved about to examine what remained. Besides the missing shuttlecraft, nothing else was out of place.

"Some of the crew could have escaped in the shuttles," Chakotay ventured.

"It seems unlikely," Seven countered. "If you recall when we examined the hull from the _Phoenix_, none of the escape pods had been deployed. I would guess the shuttles were removed by the hostile force after _Voyager_ was secured.

Chakotay nodded solemnly. It did seem like a reasonable explanation. He motioned to the door that led to the rest of the ship. It was closed without power and of course did not open when they approached. He placed a portable power unit on the door's panel to power it individually, and presently it slid open. A breath of air rushed past them as the atmosphere on the deck escaped into the shuttle bay.

They opened and examined a few of the rooms on their way forward, mostly crew quarters. Only occasionally was there evidence of a struggle; items scattered on the floor or a phaser burn on a corridor wall. They worked in silence for the most part.

As they neared sickbay, Captain Janeway called the other away teams. "Minnik and I have downloaded Tuvok's logs. We're heading back to the _Phoenix_ to examine them in detail. Lemore, what's the situation down in engineering?"

"A bit of a mess Captain," Lemore replied. "It appears as if the crew made their last stand here against whatever force boarded. Main power and auxiliary power are offline. I'd like Seven to take a look, but I believe we'd be able to convert one of the Borg power systems as a temporary fix if we plan to initiate repairs."

"Chakotay, what's your status?"

"We're making our way to sickbay. The Delta Flyer and other shuttlecraft are missing. We suspect the hostile force that invaded _Voyager_ took them."

"OK. Finish with sickbay, and then join Lemore and Ak in engineering. We'll beam over a Borg power unit to power _Voyager_'s systems and begin repairs."

"We're going to attempt to salvage _Voyager_?" Chakotay asked.

There was silence on the comm, and Chakotay realized Captain Janeway must be battling the demons of her lost command. _Voyager_ had been her ship, and to see it in this state, the crew missing and presumed dead, must be devastating. "Let's get power restored and then assess our options," she finally said. "Janeway out."

They entered sickbay. As with most everywhere else they had encountered, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. If only the lights and the environmental systems would turn on, it would look like any other day. Seven made her way to one of the computers and attempted to use her portable energy unit to power up the station. It was only partially successful.

"Chakotay, there appears to be an active program in this station's memory buffer," she remarked.

Chakotay moved over to her side and examined the read out. "There's not enough power to activate it," he said and had a sudden inspiration. "This might very well be the Doctor."

Seven turned to him curiously. "Explain."

"The Doctor was _Voyager_'s emergency medical hologram program. He was activated after the incident that brought _Voyager_ to the delta quadrant, and has been, or at least was operating continuously ever since. If we can activate him, he would undoubtedly be able to tell us what was happening and who did this."

Seven examined the computer terminal more closely. "Give me your power unit," she ordered, putting her hand out to Chakotay. "I will attempt to combine their output and activate the Doctor's program."

Chakotay had grown used to Seven's demeanor and was unfazed with her ordering him. In fact, he had come to enjoy her forthright manner. He handed her his power unit and she combined it with her own already on the terminal. Some additional systems within sickbay powered up. Chakotay looked to the corners of the room and realized a few of the holographic projectors had come online. The Doctor, however, didn't materialize.

"It might be waiting for a voice command," Chakotay offered.

"Unfortunately, without an atmosphere, that won't be possible," Seven countered.

"Can you access environmental control for sickbay? I believe its system was separate from the rest of the ship for quarantine purposes."

"I will try." Seven worked at the terminal for a short time, and then the doors to sickbay closed and sealed. All at once, Chakotay could hear the hiss of a gathering atmosphere through the helmet of his environmental suit. He reached to start undoing the latching mechanism to his helmet, but Seven reached over and touched his upper arm. "Not yet Chakotay," she said with concern. "Please wait until full atmospheric pressure has been restored." Chakotay nodded, but Seven kept her hand on his arm. After a few minutes, the hissing became less noticeable, and Seven removed her hand.

Chakotay opened his helmet. The air was very cold and dry. He blinked several times and took shallow breaths to get used to it. "Activate EMH program," he said, after acclimating.

Before them there was a shimmering of light, and the Doctor materialized. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency," he said, and then catching a glimpse of Seven, he stepped back in alarm.

"It's all right Doctor," Chakotay assured him. "It's me, Commander Chakotay."

The Doctor looked at Chakotay warily, as if not believing his visual processors. "Commander, what are you doing here? Was Tuvok successful in obtaining the antidote after all?"

"Doctor, Voyager left Captain Janeway and myself on New Earth over seven years ago. What is your last memory?"

The Doctor looked about the darkened sickbay as if looking at it for the first time. "We were in a firefight with the Vidiians," he said. "I was speaking with Denara, about obtaining the antidote for the New Earth virus. My memory stops in mid sentence. The power to sickbay must have been disrupted and I was not reactivated until this moment. Did you say seven years?"

Chakotay glanced at Seven beside him, and then back to the Doctor. "_Voyager_ has been adrift in space for the past seven years, and the crew is missing. Do you suppose they were captured by the Vidiians?"

"Commander," the Doctor pleaded. "Denara had nothing to do with this attack."

"Who is this Denara?" Seven interjected.

"A brilliant Vidiian doctor," the Doctor replied. "She only wanted to help us and had no idea of the treachery the other Vidiian ships had planned." The Doctor turned indignant and added, "and who are you?"

"Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One," Seven replied evenly.

The Doctor turned to Chakotay. "Am I to believe we are now allied with the Borg?" he asked incredulously.

"The Captain and I and six ex-Borg drones are traveling in a repaired Borg sphere. We're station keeping in orbit near _Voyager_. Seven is our chief engineer."

The Doctor turned back to Seven. "Well, I'm pleased to meet you then."

"And I you," Seven replied. "You are not what I expected from a simple holographic program."

"I'm not just any holographic program," the Doctor said indignantly. "My program required fifty million gigaquads of memory and I have the combined medical knowledge of all Federation species, and now a great deal of delta quadrant species as well."

Seven was impressed, the wheels in her mind turning.

"Doctor," Chakotay interrupted. "Seven and I need to get to engineering. You'll have to stay here while we power back up _Voyager_'s systems."

"You forget Commander," the Doctor replied. "I'm a prisoner in these walls. Unless this Borg sphere of yours has holographic projectors, I'm stuck here in sickbay."

"There are no such projectors on the _Phoenix_," Seven stated.

"Don't worry Doctor," Chakotay said. "I don't think the Captain is about to abandon _Voyager_, particularly now that we know you're still aboard."

"That's good to know."

"We'll return here as soon as we get power established."

#

The meeting was being held in _Voyager_'s sickbay, for the Doctor's benefit. Ak remained on board the _Phoenix_ with an open comm. link and transporter lock on everyone in case another ship was detected in system. They had been in orbit for three days with no other ships detected within two light years, and so Captain Janeway deemed the possibility of them being interrupted as remote and that it was safe for her and the rest of the crew to attend the meeting.

Complete power had been restored to _Voyager_ earlier in the day, although impulse and warp drive were still offline. At least maneuvering thrusters were available, and so _Voyager_ could be kept in a stable orbit and attitude indefinitely.

The group stood together between two of the biobeds. Captain Janeway sighed heavily, and then began. "So, here's where we stand. Seven tells me the repair of _Voyager_'s warp nacelle is possible, even with our limited manpower, but it will take months to complete. We can tow _Voyager_ with the _Phoenix_'s tractor beams, but that will limit our speed to warp two point three. If we met trouble, _Voyager_ would be a sitting duck. Although the phaser banks have been recharged and are operating, all the photon torpedoes have been confiscated, presumably by the Vidiians.

"Minnik and Seven made a complete sweep of the system and have identified three Federation-like warp signatures, all leading off in the same direction. By comparison to the warp signature we followed here, it is likely these are from the Delta Flyer and two remaining shuttlecraft that the Vidiians also took from _Voyager_. Along the trajectory, there is a system with an M-class planet about a dozen light years distant. I think it highly probable this was there destination, and possible that answers to the whereabouts of our missing crewmen will be found on that planet.

"I fully intend to investigate that nearby system and look for survivors. In the past, the Vidiians used their captured prisoners for slave labor because they were too weakened by the phage to work themselves. If it is possible even one of _Voyager_'s crew has survived these past seven years in a Vidiian prison, I intend to get them out."

Captain Janeway looked from face to face to gauge their reactions. The ex-Borg drones were as impassive as ever, and she could see disgust on Chakotay's face, evidently thinking of his time in the Vidiian camp when he rescued Tom Paris and B'Ellana Torres from the Vidiian experiments and organ processing. The Doctor's program was registering a bit of trepidation as well. He was likely concerned that they might be considering abandoning _Voyager_. "I'm not putting this up to a vote," the Captain continued. "I do want to know what each of you is thinking."

Chakotay spoke first. "I agree that it would be wiser to leave _Voyager_ in orbit about this planet. There is substantial evidence that this system is infrequently visited, and it will be safe here until we return."

"Would it be wise to arrive in the system in a Borg vessel?" Saychek ventured. Another vessel might be more easily ignored."

"What do you propose?" Janeway replied.

"Perhaps we should consider reinstalling the warp drive into the shuttlecraft," Saychek replied. "Depending on how much traffic is in the nearby system, it might go unnoticed."

"But that would leave the _Phoenix_ without a warp drive," Janeway protested.

"Not necessarily," Seven said. "_Voyager_'s warp drive is essentially intact, although the damage to the port nacelle makes establishing a stable warp field impossible." She paused and turned to Minnik, as if she was about to ask the Kazon a question, but then returned her attention to Janeway. "If you allow us three more days, I believe Minnik and I could retrofit the _Phoenix_ to accept _Voyager_'s warp drive. In fact, it would allow the _Phoenix_ to operate at warp speed for greater lengths of time."

Janeway didn't like the idea of cannibalizing _Voyager_'s systems, but it sounded like a viable option. "If we all helped in the retrofit, could you complete the transition faster?"

"Yes," Seven replied.

"Have you given further consideration in attempting to contact Doctor Denara Pel?" the Doctor cut in.

Captain Janeway turned to the Doctor, sympathy in her eyes. "Doctor, I know how much you care for Doctor Pel, but until we know more about what happened seven years ago on _Voyager_ and the fate of the crew, I'm reluctant to reveal to the Vidiians what we're up to."

"Doctor Pel had nothing to do with this Captain," the Doctor replied emphatically.

"I know that Doctor, but until I know more about the Vidiians who did do this, we'll be keeping a low profile." She reached over and touched the Doctor's holographic sleeve, and he reluctantly nodded. Turning back to the rest of the group, she continued, "OK. So now the question is who goes on this scouting mission?"

"I will go," Chakotay stated. "I know the people we're looking for, and they know me. I've also had experience with the Vidiians and their internment camps."

Seven was about to speak up, but Janeway lifted her hand to stop her. "Seven, I'm fully aware that you intend to propose going on this away mission as well. If you stay here, however, you could oversee the retrofit of _Voyager_'s warp core into _Phoenix_ while Chakotay is investigating the planet."

Seven turned to Minnik. "Minnik would be more than capable of accomplishing the oversight," she said, which made Minnik smile in return.

Janeway narrowed her eyes and glanced at Chakotay. "Seven and I work well together," he offered. "She would be my first choice to accompany me."

Janeway shook her head and smiled. There was obviously no point in fighting this. "Very well. The two of you will take the shuttle to the neighboring system and assess what we're up against."

"Are you sure sending Seven is wise," Saychek remarked. "It will be hard for Seven to blend in and I don't think an ex-Borg drone will be welcome."

"The intention of this away mission is to assess the situation on the ground, not to launch a rescue attempt," Janeway replied. "Chakotay and Seven will remain concealed and return with the information. By that time, the retrofit will be complete, and depending on what we find out, we can return with the _Phoenix_ and launch a rescue if necessary."

"What do you need from me during this time?" the Doctor asked tentatively, sounding deflated.

"I have an idea about that," Seven said. "Some research the Doctor could conduct that would be helpful to us all. For the present, however, I would like to discuss it with the Doctor in private."

Chakotay raised his eyebrows, and the others looked at one another, but didn't comment. Only Minnik seemed to understand. Janeway was about to protest, but then decided against it. "At some point, I will have to become privy to what this idea of yours is, but for now, hear her out Doctor."

She turned to the rest of the group. "Does anyone have something else to add?" After waiting a moment, she turned to Chakotay. "Prepare the shuttle and help Seven and Minnik move the warp drive back inside. You will leave as soon as you are able." She touched her comm badge and said, "Ak, beam all of us back to the _Phoenix_ except Seven. She will be returning shortly."

Almost immediately the group of them dematerialized and was gone.

Seven moved over to where the Doctor was standing and regarded the hologram. He was not at all what she had expected. How could a collection of computer algorithms and sub-routines simulate complex human behaviors and emotions so well? At times during their interactions over the past few days, it was possible to forget he was artificial. He spoke often of this Vidiian doctor and Seven had been surprised to learn he apparently had a romantic interest in her. Somehow he felt love without the neurochemicals in a biological brain; without being human. That intrigued her. She reached out and handed the Doctor a data chip. "I have something for you to work on while we are absent," she began. "I know what the Captain has said concerning this endeavor, but I would like for you to keep this research between the two of us for now."

"Of course," the Doctor replied and accepted the data chip.

"This chip contains a full scan of my cybernetic implants as well as all relevant information from the Borg data nodes concerning the removal of Borg armor, implants, and components. It's a medical encyclopedia, if you will, about the Borg."

The Doctor looked surprised. "Do you desire for me to research how to remove some of your Borg implants?" he queried.

"No," Seven replied flatly. "I desire for you to remove them all."

#

Author's note: I was going to tweak on this some late tonight, but decided I needed to get more sleep instead. I think it's good enough to go. I'll perhaps have Chapter 4 ready in a few days… updates will be a bit more spread out from this point forward.


	4. The Vidiian Fragment

# Chapter 4 – The Vidiian Fragment

"The trader said they are called the Vidiian Fragment," Chakotay remarked when Seven exited her hiding place in the back of the shuttlecraft. The two of them had been gathering information for the past couple of days. The three Federation warp signatures led all the way to the outskirts of the system, but in-system there were so many signatures, the trail became impossible to follow. Fortunately, there was only one planet in the system that was habitable. As it turned out, Saychek had been right about using the shuttle. Many small craft littered the system, and the habitable M-class planet itself hosted a vibrant trading community. It was easy for them to move about unnoticed.

Although the Borg had been absent from this sector for the past five years, memory of their destructive push through was still evident. The remains of what was once the largest trading compound was now only an angry scar in the ground, scooped up by the attacking Borg. When they first sighted it from high orbit, Seven remarked that she had no memory of the system itself. The events must have occurred after her cube crashed on New Earth and her link to the Collective severed. Because of this however, they decided it would be prudent for Seven not to be seen during interactions with traders. Saychek had been right about that as well.

"So the compound on the southern continent is the Vidiian stronghold as we suspected," Seven said, taking her seat beside Chakotay. "But they seem to now be outcasts."

"Indeed," Chakotay replied. "That Vidiian we met yesterday suggested as much." Chakotay rubbed his chin and looked out the shuttle's forward window in thought. "So here's what we know. Apparently, when the phage was cured seven years ago, most Vidiians attempted to repair relations with their neighbors and pay reparations. The Vidiian Fragment, however, did not want to give up their status or their slaves. It's possible the prisoners, including survivors from _Voyager_, are still alive and serving them in that stronghold."

Seven looked dubious. "I realize the Vidiians would no longer have to harvest organs with the phage cured," she remarked. "But we have discovered no evidence that the _Voyager_ crew is on the planet."

Chakotay nodded. "It's possible they have always been kept within the confines of the stronghold," he suggested. He realized obtaining that evidence, however, might prove problematic. By all accounts, the stronghold was well guarded. It occupied an entire basin in the southern continent of the planet adjacent to a mountain range rich in dilithium and other minerals. The Vidiian Fragment was the primary source for dilithium in the sector, and they guarded their territory fiercely. From what the traders told them, no one ever left the stronghold. Fortunately, a Borg sphere packed a pretty good punch. "What do you think Seven. Should we return to _Phoenix_ with the information we have, or should we head to the periphery of the stronghold to take a closer look."

Seven considered her response. They already had a complete reconnaissance of the compound from orbit. It was unlikely the view from the ground would yield any new information, but not impossible. She was enjoying this away mission with Chakotay. What he had told Captain Janeway was true, they indeed worked well together. With each passing day, they drew closer, and at times, she almost forgot she was Borg. If the Doctor, a collection of programs, algorithms and sub-routines, could find love, perhaps she could as well. Human or Borg or both, she was convinced now that she did in fact love him, whatever that meant. And looking at him, waiting expectantly for her answer, all she saw was acceptance of who she was, and perhaps he loved her as well. "A closer look couldn't hurt," Seven finally replied, wanting to extend their time together, even for a little while. "We can set the shuttle down in the foothills close to the stronghold and observe their defenses from afar. It would only delay us by an additional few hours at most."

"I concur," Chakotay replied. It was what he was thinking as well. They were in a low orbit about the planet where they had just rendezvoused with a trader vessel. In fact, only a slight adjustment to their current trajectory was necessary to get them to the stronghold.

Seven consulted a map they had made of the entire planet from orbit and studied the terrain about the stronghold. "Head for the southern portion of the stronghold's basin," she said. "It is closer and on higher ground and will offer us the best overall view." Chakotay adjusted the shuttle's course and headed for the location indicated by Seven on a descent trajectory. It would be a few minutes before they arrived at the site.

"So what was it again you gave the Doctor?" Chakotay asked after a time.

"I never told you what I gave the Doctor," Seven replied evenly.

"Oh?"

"As I have said to you befpre, it is a surprise. If this is another attempt to ascertain that secret, it will not succeed."

"I'm just curious," Chakotay laughed. "You can't blame me for being curious. Do you think he'll have it ready when you get back?"

Seven wasn't buying into his game. "Have what ready?"

"You tell me."

Seven fell silent. She was inexperienced at this sort of banter, and suspected if Chakotay did lure her into a conversation that danced around the subject she wished to conceal, she would inadvertently divulge the secret eventually. It wasn't really much of a secret. Chakotay knew she wished to expunge her body of the Borg implants and mechanisms. She had told him so on several occasions in recent days, and even the initial results of her research with the Borg data nodes. The fact that she was actively pursuing that option was the real secret, but she didn't want him, or herself for that matter, to have any unrealistic expectations. She suspected Chakotay knew anyway and was only teasing her about it. The time would come soon enough to discuss it with him and decide, depending on what the Doctor's research revealed.

"There is a small lake in a valley up ahead," Seven said. "The rocky pass nearby overlooks into the stronghold's basin and will allow us an unobstructed view."

"I see it," Chakotay responded, examining the area out the front. "It's an ideal location. I'll set down in that clearing near the north end of the lake."

"Agreed."

Chakotay smoothly guided the shuttle to a soft landing beside the lake. Soon enough, the shuttle's engines powered down and the outside door to the shuttle opened. Seven and Chokotay stepped out onto the pebbly shoreline of the lake. Around them were rolling foothills covered with a thick evergreen forest of short trees. Besides the Vidiian Fragment, the southern continent was largely uninhabited. The trees thinned out to the north and the pass that Seven had mentioned beckoned in that direction. Beyond the foothills to the south were snowcapped mountains. The lake was a crystalline blue and calm, reflecting the distant peaks on its surface. The sun, now low in the western sky, illuminated the surrounding forest with long and sharp shadows. Chakotay took a deep breath and then exhaled. The air was cool, but not unpleasantly so. "What a beautiful place," he remarked.

Seven scanned the surrounding area. Beauty; as a Borg drone, she might have said that beauty was irrelevant, but she bit her tongue and tried to soak in the surroundings with the mind of a human. She tried to process and assess the visual impressions of what she was seeing. Several things presented themselves and she began listing them in her mind. Stratocumulus clouds were building off to the east, brightened by the sunlight and with a slight reddish tint due to the K8 type star that was the primary of this system. Some dust and aerosols made the distant mountain peaks more indistinct and the atmosphere close to the horizon appeared pink. The snow on those mountain peaks was very bright and might very well be glaciers, for it was summer in this hemisphere. Moving closer, the trees surrounding the lake appeared to be of a uniform species, and in places reached the lakeshore.

"I can imagine living in a place like this," Chakotay mused, interrupting Seven's thoughts. He pointed to a small rise on the opposite side of the lake. "Perhaps a cabin over there on that hill. We could spend our days hiking in the nearby mountains or just enjoying ourselves by the lake. Studying the wildlife, or perhaps there is even evidence of a prior civilization buried somewhere in those hills." He sounded excited about the possibility.

Seven immediately noticed his use of the pronoun 'we', and this pleased her. She tried to picture herself at Chakotay's side in that cabin on the hill. It was difficult for her to imagine. Images of a Borg alcove next to a fireplace filled her head. She brought her eyes down from the hill beyond to examine her hand and arm. The Borg armor glistened a flat grey in the sunlight, and only a bit of human skin showed on her hand surrounded by the silvery web of a Borg implant. Even that skin was colored unnaturally. She didn't notice his approach, but suddenly was aware of Chakotay by her side, his hand casually resting on her shoulder. Despite the layer of Borg armor, she felt the comforting pressure and could imagine the soft warmth of his hand.

After a short time, Chakotay motioned towards the nearby pass. "I guess we'd better get moving," he said with a sigh. "I have a holo-imager with a magnifying lens. We'll take some images of the stronghold, then make orbit and head back to the _Phoenix_." His hand persisted on Seven's shoulder for a short time longer, and she stayed perfectly still until he let it slip off and started for the pass. Before she followed, Seven instinctively closed the shuttle and then fell in behind.

It was a slight upward climb to the pass, and when they came to it, they saw the Vidiian Fragment's stronghold spread out in the basin beyond. In the distance and circling the basin were several small shuttlecraft, perhaps from the stronghold and perhaps keeping sentry. The two of them edged closer to the rocky hillside on the east side of the pass to conceal themselves. Chakotay first took a wide angle holoimage of the entire basin, and then increased the magnification and starting taking more detailed images of individual buildings.

"Do you suppose we could live in a place like this?" Seven asked suddenly, her mind still thinking about the proposed cabin on the lake.

Chakotay stopped taking images and turned to look back at Seven. "It depends on what we plan to do. Captain Janeway has expressed the desire to continue our voyage back to the alpha quadrant. If that were the case, we would probably spend the rest of our lives in space." He frowned at the thought, and then returned to imaging the stronghold.

Life in space; Seven had spent the majority of her life in space, even before being assimilated by the Borg. She looked back at the lake and the small hill beyond. She again tried to picture herself in the scene, with Chakotay there by her side. Was visualizing the beauty in a landscape like that? The beauty only manifesting itself because of the emotions that resulted when you pictured yourself in the scene? The image in her mind came a little easier. Both she and Chakotay didn't notice the movement on the other side of the pass.

The attacker came at them out of the glare of the late afternoon sun. With a scream, the long blade swung down from above and sliced to the right. Chakotay was the first to react, deflecting the blade with his forearm and sending the blow into the rocky hillside where the two of them had been hiding against. Seven realized with a start that if the blade had not been diverted it would have decapitated her. She hadn't thought to activate her personal force field, having been caught up in the moment of observing the lake. Chakotay gasped at the contact, and fell back onto the ground, his sleeve already turning red with blood. The sight of him clutching his damaged arm instilled within Seven a feeling of rage. She turned to face the attacker, who had swiftly retrieved the long blade and prepared for another blow. It was a primitive weapon, obviously hand crafted from some metal wreckage; sharpened on one side with two sets of points. The attacker swung the blade again, this time in a sweeping horizontal motion with the intent of cutting Seven in two at the waist. Seven was ready this time.

As the blade came close, Seven's Borg force field stopped it with a metallic thud. A cloth covered the attacker's face, but the eyes through a gap in the cloth blazed in frustration as the blade proved ineffective. In the startled confusion that followed, Seven grabbed the blade and wrestled it from the attacker's grasp. Using her enhanced strength, she bent it in two and threw it off to the side. The attacker howled and cursed in frustration. Seven heard Chakotay groan behind her and call her name. She quickly stepped between the attacker and Chakotay to protect him from further damage and said, "stay back Chakotay."

The attacker was preparing for hand to hand combat, but stumbled in mid-step upon hearing Seven. She then stood looking at the two of them as if for the first time, the eyes still blazing behind the mask, but now those eyes also held questions. "Chakotay?" the attacker blurted, and suddenly removed the cloth over her face. Seven immediately recognized the cranial ridges on the forehead and distinct facial features as that of a Klingon female. The Klingon look past Seven to see Chakotay.

Chakotay was on his knees and teetered on the verge of unconsciousness. Blood oozed from his arm and a wound in his side where one of the points of the bat'leth had penetrated. He looked up at Seven. She stood with her back to him, bracing for another attack. When he had seen the blade arching towards Seven's neck, he instinctively moved to block it, sacrificing his arm to save her life. He felt a wave of relief with the knowledge she wasn't injured. He cared for her deeply. "Seven," he murmured.

"Chakotay," the attacker repeated and again tried to step to the side to get a clearer view.

Chakotay heard her say his name this time and tried to focus on the attacker's face. She was fully Klingon, and also vaguely familiar. He suddenly remembered the experiments the Vidiians had conducted from his last encounter with them. "B'Elanna?" he whispered, and then slumped forward, succumbing to the loss of blood.

The Klingon screamed a sound halfway between a howl and a laugh. It was too much for Seven to take, with Chakotay bleeding to death at her feet. She stepped forward and slammed the side of her hand against the base of the other's skull. Whoever the attacker was, she crumpled to the ground unconscious. Seven then turned back and knelt beside Chakotay, gathering him up into her arms. She heard herself sob, an ache inside gripping her like a vice. She had to get him back to the shuttle and stop the flow of blood. Inside would be a med kit.

She lifted him tenderly and moved towards the shuttle. Tears she didn't realize she could shed streamed down her face.

#

Author's note: Thank you scifiromance, Rono777, sushmajo, lizzy74656, Djsmith, and Alaster Boneman! So, I'm thinking we're about halfway done.


	5. Ten of Twelve

# Chapter 5 – Ten of Twelve

The shuttlecraft shuddered and a low whine emanated from the port side indicating the nacelle was beginning to overheat. Seven glanced forward to the pilot's station from where she knelt beside Chakotay. She had left the planet's surface and set the shuttle to maximum warp once she tended to Chakotay's wounds and secured the prisoner. Some of the indicators glowed amber, but none was cause for immediate alarm. The warp drive would need some work when they returned to _Phoenix_, but that didn't concern her. She returned her attention to Chakotay. He lay unconscious on the equipment lockers. Seven placed her left hand on Chakotay's hands, which rested on his stomach, and wondered if there was something more she could do to help him. The tactile contact gave her some comfort, the Borg sensors on her fingertips detecting the warmth of his skin and a faint but steady pulse. Her other hand rested near his head, and unconsciously she also let the fingers of this hand touch his hair.

Suddenly the shuttle shook more violently, waking up the Klingon who was held in the back. The Klingon struggled against her constraints, and grunted in frustration. When she realized she was getting nowhere, her eyes darted around the shuttle, taking in every detail, until they came to rest on Seven and Chakotay. She growled when she saw Seven. "Stay away from him," she spat. "What have you done to him?"

Seven didn't look at the Klingon and attempted to remain calm. "I have repaired the damage you inflicted. The only reason you are still alive is because your species comes from the alpha quadrant, and so you might have information we need. You are now my prisoner."

"Am I to be assimilated?"

Seven ignored the prisoner and returned her attention to Chakotay. She examined the bandage on his side and was pleased to see the bleeding had finally stopped. He had lost a lot of blood, but appeared to be stabilized. Seven hoped if they could get back to _Voyager_ and the Doctor in time, he would be fine.

"Release me," the Klingon said. "I am Chakotay's friend. I can tend to his wounds."

Seven turned and glared at the Klingon, again a feeling of rage welling up inside her as it had on the planet's surface. How dare she call herself Chakotay's friend. "I heard what Chakotay said on the planet," Seven replied, "but you are not B'Elanna Torres. I familiarized myself with all of _Voyager_'s crew before this away mission, and Lieutenant Torres was a half-human, half-klingon hybrid."

"I am…" the prisoner started, but then hesitated. She simultaneously appeared confused and angry. Finally she added tentatively, "the Klingon half."

The shuttle shook again. Both Seven and the Klingon looked at the lights at the vacant pilot seat. "You're going to kill us all if we lose containment," the Klingon commented, although she said it half-heartedly, as if not fully believing it. Seven was unfazed. She knew the limitations of the shuttlecraft and wasn't about to risk their lives by pushing the engines too far. "Where are we going anyway?" the Klingon said, but again Seven ignored her. The Klingon watched as Seven passed her fingers through Chakotay's hair. "What are you doing?" And then as if seeing the tenderness with which Seven was treating Chakotay for the first time, she gasped. A look of horror crossed the Klingon's face. "Who are you?" she demanded.

Seven turned to face the Klingon with fury in her eyes and the Klingon flinched. "I am Seven of Nine, chief engineer of the starship _Phoenix_. It is to the _Phoenix_ we are going, and _I _am Chakotay's friend." She turned back to Chakotay. Seven was done talking to the Klingon. She would allow Captain Janeway and Ak deal with her. The thought of how Ak might intimidate the Klingon gave Seven some inner satisfaction. They would be in communication range of the _Phoenix_ shortly, and the priority now was to get Chakotay to the Doctor in _Voyager_'s sickbay.

Soon enough, the computer's voice broke the silence. "Communication with _Phoenix_ now possible."

Seven stood quickly and moved forward to the pilot's seat. Opening a comm channel, she said "Shuttlecraft to _Phoenix_."

"Go ahead shuttlecraft," Captain Janeway responded.

"Captain" Seven and the Klingon said simultaneously.

Seven glared at the prisoner. "Captain," Seven repeated. "we have a medical emergency. Commander Chakotay has been injured. Prepare the Doctor to receive him as soon as we're in transporter range."

"Understood. What happened Seven?"

"We were attacked Captain. I've apprehended the attacker and am bringing her back as a prisoner. She claims to be B'Elanna Torres, but is Klingon and does not match the description of Lieutenant Torres contained in _Voyager_'s database."

"Captain," the Klingon called. "I can explain."

There was a long silence on the other end. "Prepare both Commander Chakotay and the Klingon prisoner for transport. We will beam Chakotay directly to sickbay when you are in range and the prisoner to the brig on _Voyager_. Bring the shuttle into _Voyager_'s shuttle bay, and then join me to question the prisoner."

Seven was about to protest. Her desire was to go directly to sickbay to attend to Chakotay. She didn't want anything else to do with the prisoner, but she also realized there was little she could do to help the Doctor. "Understood."

"You will be in range in a few minutes. Stand by." The comm link went silent.

"Are you Borg?" the prisoner asked, studying Seven carefully.

Seven considered the question. Physically, she was nearly identical to how she was when a drone in the Collective. Cybernetic implants throughout her body, her human physiology repressed. And yet… She could feel the dried tears on her cheek, and her heart still ached at the thought of losing Chakotay. "No," she finally answered. "I am human. My link to the Hive Mind was severed over five years ago." The prisoner looked down, emotions played out across her face, but Seven couldn't read them. Was it guilt? Rage? Frustration? Time was running short, and soon both Chakotay and the prisoner would be beamed to _Voyager_. "You can explain to me," Seven said. "Who are you really?"

The prisoner looked up, her eyes haunted. She appeared confused and defeated. "Call me Ten of Twelve," she said with a laugh.

Seven thought the prisoner might be mocking her. But why? Before Seven could question her further about this designation, both the prisoner and Chakotay were beamed away in the transporter.

#

Captain Janeway waited outside the brig. Inside was perhaps a connection to _Voyager_ of the past. But who was she? Could she be the Klingon half of her former chief engineer? She had witnessed first hand what the Vidiians were capable of medically, and it was fully possible. Her recollection was, however, that each half of B'Elanna couldn't exist without the other. The turbolift at the far end of the corridor opened and Seven of Nine stepped out. Janeway couldn't help but notice the blood stains on the armor of Seven's arms and chest. Chakotay's blood, shed by whoever it was inside her brig. More unusual was the look of concern on Seven's face. Janeway was so used to the impassive expression of Saychek, Seven's demeanor was a bit of a shock. Janeway motioned for them to continue into the brig. The Klingon prisoner stood up inside one of the cells when they entered.

"How is Chakotay?" the prisoner immediately asked with concern.

"The Doctor tells me he will recover," Janeway replied. "He lost a lot of blood, but Seven's first aid saved his life."

The prisoner stared back at them, a mixture of guilt and contempt in her eyes. "Are you now allied with the Borg?" she asked.

Janeway ignored the prisoner's question. She stepped up close to the force field that enclosed the small cell. "Seven informs me you wish to be called Ten of Twelve," she commented.

The prisoner turned, as if to hide herself. She started to say something, but then stopped.

"Why did you attack Commander Chakotay?" Janeway asked.

"I didn't know it was Chakotay!" the prisoner pleaded. It was obvious she was distressed at harming him. The prisoner looked over to Seven and added, "I saw a Borg, and I went to kill it."

"ej jey. yInlIj vIghaj.!" Seven shouted, and the prisoner stumbled back in alarm, despite the force field between them.

Captain Janeway was dumbfounded at the outburst. "What did you say to her?"

"I reminded the prisoner that I defeated her in battle and her life was now mine." Seven then turned again to the prisoner and added, "If she has a scrap of honor left, she will answer your questions with respect or I will rip out her tongue."

The prisoner's eyes widened. She nodded her head stiffly and said "HeQ jIH."

Seven seemed to reflect on something for a moment, and then stepped back to the brig's control terminal and cut the power to the cell's force field. The prisoner stood straighter, as if mustering her courage. Seven stepped up in front of the Klingon placing both hands on the other's shoulders. "vidiians maSuv. yaj'a'?"

The prisoner recognized this sign of respect, and offer. She placed her hands on Seven's shoulders. "Qapla'!"

Seven turned to Captain Janeway. "Klingons are an honorable species, Captain. We have an understanding. The force field is no longer necessary. Ten of Twelve will cause you no more trouble."

Janeway frowned slightly, but nodded. She turned back to the prisoner. "I'm glad we have that understanding." Janeway then leaned in closer. "Why do you wish to be called Ten of Twelve?"

"It is who I am," the prisoner replied. "If a similar designation is good enough for Seven of Nine, then it is good enough for me."

"You have no other name?" Janeway persisted. The prisoner hesitated, and Janeway suspected there was something more. "Hasn't someone called you by another name?"

"There was one," she finally said. "He was to be my mate."

Janeway was surprised. "What name did he call you?"

The prisoner breathed in a deeply, and then exhaled. "S'par," she whispered.

Janeway looked thoughtful. "Years ago, when we had a run in with the Vidiians, they used their medical technology to split my chief engineer, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres, in two; her human half, and her Klingon half. You do have a striking resemblance to B'Elanna. Are you her Klingon half?"

S'par was silent for a time, her eyes downcast. "Not exactly Captain," she finally answered. "I have B'Elanna Torres' memories, or at least some of them, but I'm not B'Elanna Torres, nor even her Klingon half."

"Who are you then?"

"I am an echo of the Klingon half of B'Elanna Torres. I was created by the Vidiians as a test specimen to combat the phage. I was the tenth of a total of twelve that were manufactured. So you see, the designation I chose does fit. All of us were infected with different strains of the phage. Some of us survived."

"A clone Captain," Seven stated.

"And you were given B'Elanna's memories?" Janeway asked, feeling sympathy for her.

"I don't understand it completely myself. It was apparently necessary to give us some baseline of memories, language and emotions, in order for their tests and our responses to be valid." She looked again at Janeway. "I remember you, Captain, in a way. I remember Chakotay. I remember _Voyager_."

Janeway decided to cut right to her most pressing question. "Is the _Voyager_ crew still alive?"

S'par now looked more distressed and sat down heavily on the single bench inside the cell. "I don't know," she replied in frustration. It looked as if she wanted to break something, but then calmed herself. "About two years ago, the prisoners in the compound mounted a revolt. Many of us were able to escape, but we were tracked into the foothills that border the compound."

"And the _Voyager_ crew was among the prisoners?" Janeway asked excitedly.

S'par nodded. "They fought well," she observed. "Ayala and I held out longer than most, but he was captured. With luck, he died with honor. Eventually, I was the only one left. I intend to avenge him and all the other prisoners who were recaptured or killed."

"How were you planning to do that?" Seven asked.

"I've been studying their defenses for the past year and waiting for the right moment," S'par responded quickly, her voice now strong as she discussed her plans. "When I saw that shuttle land, I thought it was one of the shuttles the Vidiians took from _Voyager_. It was perfect. I planned to take it and use it to get back into the stronghold. When I saw Seven, who I thought was a Borg drone, I decided I should take care of it first." S'par turned to Seven, "My apologies, I did not realize you are now human."

Seven nodded diplomatically.

"Do you have knowledge of the layout of the stronghold?" Janeway asked. "Do you know where the prisoners are kept?"

"Yes Captain," S'par responded with a wide grin. Her eyes lit up at the thought of battle. "I can help you plan an assault on the stronghold. The Vidiians will drown in their own blood!"

"Captain," Seven interjected. "Commander Chakotay and I took extensive orbital imagery and ground holoimages of the stronghold. Perhaps S'par could use these to construct a map of the compound to aid us in our planning."

Janeway agreed. But could they trust S'par? She wanted to. Seven's endorsement of just moments ago rang in her ears, and she did trust Seven. If she could learn to trust six ex-Borg drones and command them as her new crew, surely she could learn to trust a Klingon clone. Perhaps there was room on this crew for one more wayward soul. "Excellent idea. S'par… do you mind if I call you S'par?"

S'par nodded.

"I'd like you to accompany Seven to construct this map."

Seven hesitated. "Captain, may I request someone else help with this matter. I would very much like to go to sickbay to attend to Commander Chakotay."

Janeway studied Seven carefully. At first she had been dubious of Seven's relationship with Chakotay, but now it was quite evident the two were very much attached and committed to the other. It was a mystery to Janeway how they would work it out, but they seemed to be doing just fine so far. She had also discovered in recent days that she was quite happy for her friend. Chakotay had finally found peace. Janeway knew Seven would submit to her authority and do what she ordered, but she also knew how important Chakotay was to Seven. "Very well. I'll work with S'par on the map of the stronghold, and call in Ak for assistance. You're dismissed for now, but please join us when you can."

Seven didn't bother to reply, but turned quickly and moved to the door. Both Janeway and S'par watched her go.

"I would never have guessed," S'par commented. "Chakotay choosing a Borg drone as a mate."

Janeway kept her thoughts to herself.

#

Chakotay could hear voices. There were two people talking nearby. Their voices rose and fell, like ocean waves on the shore, but he couldn't distinguish individual words. He felt groggy, but comfortable. Slowly his thoughts became more coherent, and memories began to tickle his mind for attention. A mountain lake accompanied by a feeling of contentment. A grand valley stretching out before him, but associated with it was an oppressive foreboding. And then a blade glinting in the sunlight and arching towards Seven's neck. "Seven!" he shouted and tried to sit up. He opened his eyes with difficulty and found himself on a biobed in sickbay.

The voices stopped and he saw Seven swiftly move to the side of his biobed. "I am here," she said simply.

The Doctor followed behind and examined the readings from the biobed's control. "As I said, the Commander is making excellent progress. He should be fully recovered in a day or two. You saved his life."

Seven turned to the Doctor. "Thank you Doctor. I will give you my decision in a moment after I speak with Chakotay."

The Doctor hesitated, but realized Seven's response implied a dismissal. "I will be right over here if either of you need me," he said, and headed to his office nearby.

"Are you OK?" Chakotay whispered, still feeling a bit exhausted despite just regaining consciousness.

"I am uninjured," Seven replied.

"What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

"A blade, coming down towards us."

"We were attacked. You diverted the blade before it injured me. I subdued the attacker and then repaired your injuries as best I could. I brought the attacker back here. She is a clone of the Klingon half of Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres."

Chakotay laughed, but it came out more like a cough. Seven had her own way of distilling information and telling a story.

"Be careful," Seven scolded. She waited for Chakotay to breath evenly again and then continued. "She is now helping the Captain construct maps of the stronghold to aid in our planning of a rescue mission."

"_Voyager_'s crew?"

"Their condition is unknown, but likely many are still alive and held prisoner in the stronghold. I suspect the Captain will want to launch a rescue as soon as possible."

"Hopefully in a day or two when I'm back on my feet."

Seven glanced back towards the Doctor's office. "If you are well enough, there is something else of importance that I wish to discuss with you."

Chakotay again tried to sit up, but Seven placed her hand gently on his shoulder indicating he should remain where he was. He submitted to the fact that he would have to listen laying down. "What is it?"

"It is time for us to discuss, my secret. I asked the Doctor to research the possibility of removing all my Borg armor and implants using the information contained in the Borg data nodes. He has provided me with two options, both with serious implications."

Chakotay was about to mention a third possibility, that she do nothing, but understood how important it was for her to remove the Borg technology from her body. She wanted to look, and feel, more human. "What are the options?" he asked.

"The Doctor can remove about eighty percent of my Borg implants. This includes all the armor and many internal components. It would also require some extensive modifications to my cortical node."

"Cortical node?" Chakotay interrupted. "What is that?"

Seven frowned. "A device linked directly to my brain," she finally said. "It not only controls all of my Borg implants, but also acts as an interface between my thoughts and the Borg technology. On the outside, I would appear human with only a few implants still visible. Many of my dormant biological systems would begin to function again. The cortical node would remain, and due to the modifications, many of my implants would require weekly maintenance by the Doctor. Eventually these components would malfunction. When the cortical node malfunctions, it would mean my death."

Chakotay became concerned. He had never considered the possibility of the Borg implants failing. "How long will your cortical node last?"

"Drones are typically discarded after forty years of service, if they last that long. According to the Doctor, the Borg components aren't manufactured to last much longer than that. If we wait too long, any operation to remove the cortical node would be riskier and there would be a less likely chance I would recover."

Chakotay didn't like the sound of that. Even if she did nothing she would face that possibility. "And the other option?"

"The Doctor can remove all of the Borg implants, including the cortical node. There is much more risk, however, because I was assimilated as a child and many of my muscles never fully developed due to reliance on the Borg enhancements. I would require extensive muscle grafting, skeletal rebuilding, and physical therapy to regain the ability to walk. In truth, the Doctor was reluctant to discuss this option. Some of the Borg components that substitute for bones would have to be replaced with other artificial parts. There is a good chance I would never fully regain my ability to walk or use of my left hand, and of course I would be blind in one eye."

Chakotay detected apprehension in her voice and demeanor. There was something else. She sounded vulnerable. In the weeks he had known her, she had always seemed so strong and confident, until now. He reached out for her hand, and when Seven realized what he was searching for, clasped her hands around his. Chakotay squeezed her hands. "Know that I will be at your side, regardless of what you decide. It is your decision, and we can make anything work, together."

Seven squeezed his hand back and looked genuinely relieved.

"Which option would you prefer?" Chakotay asked.

Seven closed her eyes and seemed to hold onto his hands even tighter. "I want to be fully human," she finally whispered.

Chakotay understood. She had changed much in these past weeks. More free with her emotions and more accepting of her humanity. He had also changed. He no longer felt angry and alone. He finally knew where he fit and belonged in the universe.

"Doctor," Seven called. The Doctor immediately came from his office and stood beside the biobed. Seven didn't move from where she was, still holding Chakotay's hand. "It is time to inform the Captain and the rest of the crew. We will proceed with the operation to remove all my Borg components as soon as the Captain approves."

#

Thank you scifiromance, Rono777, Djsmith, and lmr0211 for your continued encouragement. It's great reading your comments. I've been slowly working on this chapter (and I'm afraid the next might take longer). And thank you stewyg86 and Soujiku for inspiring me to finally complete and post it.


	6. Attack on the Stronghold

# Chapter 6 – Attack on the Stronghold

Minnik stood with Seven on the engineering deck of the _Phoenix_. They were still in orbit about the planet where they had discovered _Voyager_. The modifications to fit _Voyager_'s warp drive into the _Phoenix_ were complete and all the appropriate diagnostics had been run. They were ready to move on the Captain's command, and so she and Seven had little to do but wait. Minnik examined the Borg appendage at the end of her arm. In the past six years, she hadn't given it much thought. Now, the thought of having it removed both intrigued and scared her. "So you intend to have everything Borg removed?" she asked.

Seven nodded from her station. "I do."

"I spoke with the Doctor," Minnik continued. "He asked me to try and convince you to do your operations in stages. Stopping at certain points to let your body and systems adjust."

"Did he indicate that this will reduce the risk of removing all my Borg implants?" Seven asked.

"No. My perception is that he expects you to be satisfied at a certain point and the full set of operations will be unnecessary."

"And what have you decided?" Seven asked.

Minnik considered her answer while still adjusting the Borg appendage before her. Seven had obviously made up her mind and didn't want to discuss her situation any further. Minnik's situation was different. "The Kazon would not tolerate someone as disfigured as me. I would be discarded."

"Fortunately, we are not in a Kazon sect," Seven commented. "In fact, Captain Janeway considers you a valuable member of this crew."

"Indeed," Minnik said. "She was quite impressed when I refit the shuttle's warp drive and nacelles after someone ran it above specifications for several hours the other day. In fact, I did it largely by myself, since my superior officer was indisposed." Minnik smiled when Seven looked adequately sheepish.

"There are prosthetics that you could use," Seven said, apparently decided not to comment.

"Substituting one appendage for another," Minnik observed.

Seven frowned. "Not quite. Your Borg appendage serves no useful purpose outside a Borg vessel. The prosthetic you get from the Doctor could be fashioned to function as a normal hand."

"Not exactly like my original, I know. I spoke at length with the Doctor." Minnik let her arm fall to her side. "Did you know there was a Star Fleet officer who was assimilated by the Borg, and after he was liberated, all his Borg implants were successfully removed without a problem?"

"Yes. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise. He was Locutus of Borg, one of the few drones given a proper name. I was in the Collective when he was assimilated during the incursion into Federation space to test their capabilities."

Minnik became pensive. "I knew that. Sometimes I try not to remember." The Borg memories were there, if she went looking for them. Her Kazon memories from before her assimilation were there as well. In their own ways, both were difficult to remember. Ironically, the past five years on the planet and now on _Phoenix_ had been the most fulfilling of her life. The constant search for food and water as a Kazon became irrelevant as a Borg drone. Specialized implants supplied all that was needed, with the required energy to make it all possible transferred during regeneration. Moreover, she could contribute, something a Kazon female typically couldn't do. "What do you suppose they're talking about?"

"They are undoubtedly planning the proposed rescue mission," Seven replied.

"Don't you think we all should be in on the planning?"

"I aided for a time when the maps were being created. Eventually, I would guess we will be called back in to offer input regarding the final plan."

"Has Chakotay said anything?"

"Only that he expects the rescue effort will be carried out soon."

Minnik looked about engineering, wondering how life would change when over a hundred new aliens were added to the crew. Most would go to _Voyager_, but would some come to the _Phoenix_? What would they think of her being Kazon? She remembered Seska and the Nistram's interaction with _Voyager_. Would they accept her?

"Have you decided?" Seven asked again.

"The Doctor says my operation will be like that Star Fleet officer. Apparently the whole process is in the Federation database, put there by the doctor who did the procedure. Do you suppose we'll end up in a Federation database?"

"The Doctor is a sophisticated collection of programs and sub-routines," Seven responded. "In effect, he is a Federation database, and so, we are already there."

"Well, anyway, the whole procedure will be relatively easy, according to the Doctor. I won't have a long recovery period." She touched to top of her head. "He says I'll even get my full head of Kazon hair back."

"You don't sound happy about that."

"You should see my hair," Minnik responded with a laugh. In truth, however, she felt guilty. Guilty that Seven's recovery would be measured in months, and perhaps years, instead of days. One part of her wanted to do as the Doctor suggested, and convince Seven not to proceed with the full operation. But another part knew exactly how Seven felt. She again raised her Borg appendage and examined it. "I've already asked the Captain," she confessed. "As soon as she approves, the Doctor will remove all my Borg implants as well."

#

S'par leaned over the holographic projection in front of them. She had just shown Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, and Saychek the layout of the stronghold and what she remembered of the disposition of the Vidiians throughout the compound. "The field generators are here, here, and here," she said, pointing to three areas on the map. "These first two cover the barracks where the prisoners are kept and the dilithium mine. The last one, their main command center." She pointed to the command center. "Once the shields are down, a full bombardment of the command center and surrounding area will take out most of the Vidiian Fragment."

"Regardless of what the Vidiians have done, we will not become murderers," Janeway replied.

"Besides, we only have a limited number of torpedoes," Saychek added. "We need to be discriminating on how we use them."

S'par then pointed to the barracks. "If we decide not to unleash the might of this warship on the Vidiians, I suggest we beam ourselves down to this point, where the barracks join. There will be some guards there, but we can quickly overwhelm them."

"There's only nine of us and hundreds of Vidiian soldiers," Chakotay commented. "A direct assault seems too risky. They can be on us in a moment."

"There are hundreds of prisoners," S'par countered. "If we free them, they will rise up and help us fight. We can set a defensive perimeter here, and defend this position and eventually launch an assault into their main command center."

"We have no idea of the prisoners' condition," Chakotay said. "I've seen how the Vidiians treat prisoners. They might be unable to aid us."

"I have seen how they treat prisoners as well," S'par barked. She didn't look happy with Chakotay.

Janeway decided it was time to end this exchange and refocus the discussion. "I agree with Chakotay. We have no idea of the prisoners' condition, and we can't rely on them. We should find a way to extract the prisoners with minimal contact with the Vidiians."

"The Vidiians must be punished," S'par countered.

Janeway shook her head. "I know how you feel, S'par. They have done terrible things. Our main objective here, however, is to free the prisoners."

"Perhaps we could use the transporters and beam them up to the _Phoenix_ all at once after destroying the field generators?" Chakotay suggested.

Saycheck shook his head. "With _Voyager_, maybe. With the _Phoenix_, we'll be restricted to twenty at a time, maximum."

"I've already decided _Voyager_ stays here," Janeway cut in. "It has no warp drive or impulse. Relying on _Phoenix_ to tractor it about is just too risky. We could get the prisoners, and then be easily chased down."

Chakotay was doing some mental calculations. "If we assume two hundred or so prisoners, that means at least ten minutes over the site for a full evacuation using the transporters."

"Two hundred?" Janeway questioned.

"I can only assume we'll be freeing all the prisoners and not just the _Voyager_ crew."

Janeway nodded. Of course they couldn't leave anyone behind. "Can we fit that many aboard the _Phoenix_?"

"It will be tight," Saychek agreed, "but doable. We'll have to have someone aboard the _Phoenix_ coordinating each transport and where they rematerialize."

S'par laughed. "The main Vidiian force from the command center will be on us in less than five minutes," she said. "If the prisoners can't fight, the few of us that go to the surface won't be able to hold them back."

Janeway examined the map of the stronghold more carefully. There were three barracks arranged at ninety degrees from each other where the prisoners were kept. According to S'par, only two were being used. In the fourth direction was to the main command center of the stronghold about two hundred meters away. On the other side of the command center were the houses of the Vidiian Fragment. Courtyards, walking paths, pools. The Vidiians lived there in luxury. "We need a way to keep the Vidiians occupied and away from the prison barracks," Janeway commented. She turned back to the others and noticed Saychek leaning in his chair, his hand on his chin in thought. "I know that look," she said. "What are you thinking Saychek."

Saycheck leaned in to study the map more closely. "It occurs to me that we will be in a Borg vessel when we launch this assault," he began. "Perhaps we can use that to our advantage."

"What do you mean?" Chakotay asked.

"You said yourself during the outbrief of yours and Seven's reconnaissance. The inhabitants of the planet are none too fond of the Borg. If we pretended to be an invading Borg force, perhaps that is the distraction we need to give us time to evacuate the prisoners via the transporter."

"Deception?" S'par snarled.

"Yes," Saycheck responded. "We could rig the comm system to sound like a multi-voice Borg transmission for whatever the Captain says. After the Vidiians refuse to lower their shields, we'll knock out these two field generators leaving the one protecting the command center intact."

"You think the Vidiians will not venture to the barracks if they think they are still defending the main area of the stronghold from the Borg?"

"Precisely."

"There will still be some Vidiians on guard in and around the barracks," S'par commented. "If their prisoners start beaming up a group at a time, I can't imagine they'll not notice."

"But not that many guards if we time the assault correctly," Janeway countered. She sounded excited for the first time. "S'par, the first part of your plan to secure the barracks area we can accomplish. If we're able to distract the Vidiians, we won't have to worry about protecting ourselves from a counterstrike from the command center."

S'par glanced back at the map. "It might work," she said slowly, warming up to the idea. "I would suggest we somehow neutralize their sensors so they can't scan the _Phoenix_ completely, or communicate outside the stronghold. That would help with the deception. They might believe it is a planet wide attack."

"Perhaps we could ionize the atmosphere above the stronghold before we begin," Chakotay suggested. "Not enough to interfere with the transporter, but enough to disrupt their sensors."

"A poleron burst into the upper atmosphere would be enough," Saychek agreed. "We could discharge as we approach the planet, but before we attract attention. Anything we do, however, will slow down the transporters."

"I think that's worth the risk," Janeway put in. She looked at the other three thoughtful. "I'd like Ak on the surface, but I also think he might be the best one to operate the transporters."

"I agree," Saychek said. "I suggest Kizati stay aboard as pilot as well."

"We'll need someone at tactical to manage the bombardment," Chakotay commented. "I think I should be on the surface, to make contact with the _Voyager_ personnel first before they're beamed up. Saychek, how do you feel about staying with the Captain on the bridge?"

Saychek nodded.

S'par grunted. "There will only be five of us for the landing party."

"It will have to do," Janeway said after a time. "We will have the element of surprise." She nodded her head, making a decision. "That's the basic outline of our plan. Chakotay, work with Saychek and S'par on a timeline and present it to the rest of the crew for comment. When you all are satisfied, we will proceed at the earliest possible time."

#

The crew of the _Phoenix_ was assembled on the bridge. Captain Janeway stood in the center and turned to look at all of them in turn. "Many of you have approached me concerning pursuing medical treatment to remove your Borg implants. The Doctor informs me there are some risks and a period of recuperation for each of you, some more so than others." She paused, and looked at Seven and Chakotay for a moment. "I fully support your decisions, and I intend to honor your wishes. But I must deny those requests at the present time. I need each of you now to pull off this rescue attempt on the stronghold, and I can't wait for the recovery period. I intend we move immediately.

"All of you have had a chance to look over the proposed rescue mission and comment. Your inputs have been invaluable. It's ambitious and dangerous, but I believe we have an obligation to make the attempt. Kizati informs me at top speed, we can be in position above the stronghold in eight hours. According to our calculations, our arrival time would be about four hours before their local dawn. S'par believes this to be the optimum time to extract the prisoners."

She again looked about the small group. No one complained. No one displayed the slightest apprehension. Janeway nodded in satisfaction. "We will proceed with the plan. In the eight hours we are approaching the stronghold, S'par will brief the away team on what to expect and what you need to do. Chakotay, work with Ak to discuss the logistics of when and where to beam the prisoners onto the _Phoenix_. Then I want each of you to get some rest and regenerate. Doctor?"

"I'm here Captain," the Doctor responded through the comm system.

"Keep _Voyager_ safe for us. We'll be coming back shortly."

"Understood Captain."

Captain Janeway turned to her pilot. "Kizati, best speed to the stronghold."

"Aye Captain"

"The rest of you are dismissed. In eight hours, we launch our attack."

#

The Borg sphere exited warp well inside the system and continued on course directly to the fourth planet. No ships challenged their approach. In fact, the few small craft they monitored upon entering the system scattered and gave them a wide berth. The sphere went to the night side of the planet, and soon enough the illuminated limb of the planet disappeared over the horizon and darkness loomed before them. Below, some lights of an inhabited compound could be seen peppering the basin in the southern continent.

Before achieving orbit, the sphere discharged an innocuous poleron burst. The atmosphere above the southern continent became ionized and reflected and scattered electromagnetic energy trying to pass through. On the ground below, an auroral display danced in the night sky. Viewed from above, the Borg sphere was treated to a kaleidoscope of colors below and around them.

On the bridge of the Borg sphere, the mood was tense. Captain Janeway stood next to her command chair in the center, with Kizati at her pilot station and Saychek nearby. Kizati adjusted thrusters, and then turned to the Captain. "We're station keeping above the stronghold. I can hold this position for about an hour."

Janeway tapped her comm. badge. "Commander, is the landing party ready?"

"Yes ma'am," Chakotay responded. "Ak is standing by at transporter control and ready to beam us down and the prisoners back up."

Janeway turned to Saychek. "Let's get this started then. Open a channel and prepare torpedoes for surface bombardment." When Saychek indicated a connection had been established with the stronghold, she began.

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile…"

#

Thank you scifiromance, Rono777, Djsmith and Alaster Boneman for your comments on the last chapter. Regarding the feasibility of Seven having all her Borg components removed, in a series where a person was split into her human and klingon halves, two people were combined to form a new person and then resplit, the ship gets stuck in a black hole and then escapes by going through a "crack" in the event horizon, and time itself was altered so the crew could get back within the seven year series limit, I think many things are possible...


	7. The Fifth Column

# Chapter 7 – The Fifth Column

S'par materialized right in front of the Vidiian guard. She pulled the trigger of her phaser even before the last of the tingling sensation of the transporter beam ended. The guard crumpled to the floor. She turned and fired another shot at the guard who was standing next to the first. That guard had time to draw his weapon, but he too was down before firing. The phasers were set to stun and S'par was glad for that. Even though she might have wanted to set phasers to maximum and see the Vidiian monsters disintegrate into subspace oblivion, she also saw this surgical strike as honorable.

Honor. She had a fleeting thought that her notions of honor and what it was to be Klingon were not even her own but belonged to B'Elanna Torres. She remembered her mother… B'Elanna's mother, teaching about honor and her Klingon heritage. She shook her head. If she thought too deeply about it, she'd lose her focus.

Five seconds. S'par looked about the area where the three prisoner barracks joined. The other four members of the landing party also had their weapons drawn. Ak had done well in setting them down in the correct positions to immediately take out the Vidiian guards. All seven lay in heaps on the floor. S'par pointed to two of the barracks and Minnik and Chakotay moved to each. Seven and Lemore followed her to the fourth wall and door that faced the stronghold's command center. She looked out and saw a phaser cut through the sky from above and impact the remaining shield about the command center. The ground shook slightly. _Phoenix_ was putting on a good show. She knew the weapons were not at full power, trying to engage the Vidiians but not destroy that last field grid. At least for now. She opened her comm channel to listen.

"… irrelevant. Negotiation is irrelevant. Lower your shields. Your culture will adapt to service us."

S'par smiled, impressed with Captain Janeway's depiction of the Borg. She had heard the Captain and Saychek practicing the day before. Another phaser blast impacted the field.

Thirty seconds. Seven and Lemore stayed by the fourth wall and S'par moved back to where Chakotay and Minnik were opening the doors to the prisoner barracks. Minnik got her's open first, with Chakotay's opening moments later. The lights switched on automatically revealing a long row of bunked beds on either side that stretched the length of the barracks. Some of the prisoners were already standing, perhaps awakened by the original torpedo detonations that took out the first two field generators. Others were now stumbling out of bed. S'par recognized many as _Voyager_ crew members, some still wearing remnants of Star Fleet uniforms even after all these years.

"Assemble in groups of twenty and prepare to be transported to safety," Chakotay called out, moving to the closest group in one of the barracks. The prisoners, however, appeared dazed. Something was wrong. The prisoners groped for handholds despite the light and were not moving in the direction of the door.

"Chakotay?" one of the prisoners said. S'par recognized him as a _Voyager_'s pilot, Tom Paris.

Chakotay moved towards him, but Paris was looking off in a different direction until Chakotay placed his hand on the other's arm. S'par moved towards the two of them as well.

"Tom," Chakotay said, looking at him intently. It was evident, however, that Tom couldn't see Chakotay in return. His eyes were glazed over and were staring beyond Chakotay.

"I can't believe it's you," Tom said. "How did you get here?"

Chakotay looked about and then back to Paris. "What's going on here Tom?"

Paris shook his head. "When we're not needed in the mines or other work, the Vidiians blind us." He motioned behind him. "We all can't see a thing. Ever since our escape attempt, it's been this way."

Anger welled up inside S'par. "Monsters!" she shouted. "Are we to show mercy to these fiends?"

"How is the blindness undone?" Chakotay asked.

"I'm not exactly sure," Tom replied. "They use their weapons somehow."

Chakotay turned to S'par. "Gather together all the Vidiian weapons and have them beamed up with the first group. We'll have the Doctor see what he can do." He then turned to project his voice down the length of the barracks. "Everyone listen to me," he shouted. "This is Commander Chakotay of the Federation. We are here to rescue all of you. Stand right where you are and prepare to be transported to our ship. Someone will be assembling you into groups. Listen to them carefully and do precisely what they say." He then motioned Minnik to start with the first barracks and moved off to the next guiding Tom along with him.

S'par gathered the Vidiian weapons and placed them on the floor amidst the first group that Minnik was assembling within a ring of transporter enhancers the she had just set up. The enhancers were Ak's idea, and would speed up the transport process. When the group was ready, S'par tapped her comm badge opening a secure link to Ak on the _Phoenix_ and said, "proceed." Almost immediately, the first group dematerialized and was gone. Minnik was already moving to get the second group into place. S'par caught her eye and nodded. Minnik would take over from here.

S'par returned to where Chakotay, Tom Paris, and now Seven were standing by the other barracks. She could see that the prisoners in this barracks were assembling as best they could and getting ready for transport as well. Seven was examining a tricorder as she scanned the last barracks whose doors were still closed.

"There are prisoners in this barracks as well," Seven commented. "I'm reading over forty life signs."

Chakotay turned to Paris. "Tom, are there other prisoners in this third barracks?"

"I don't know. If there are, we have never seen them. There are some other prisoners in the infirmary. We can't leave them behind."

"We'll have to beam them out when we knock out the final field generator," Chakotay commented. "We'll do that before we leave orbit."

Seven examined the tricorder more carefully. "The lifesigns are Vidiian."

Just then, Lemore called from the far end of the room. "I'm seeing some activity at the command center," he said. "A group is assembling."

"Keep an eye on them," Chakotay called back.

"We might have to fight them off to give us more time," S'par commented.

"Lemore," Chakotay called. "How many do you see?"

There was a pause, and then Lemore replied, "perhaps fifty or more."

S'par's eyes blazed. "It is a good day to die."

Chakotay turned back to the still closed barracks. "Not for me," he said resolutely. "These Vidiians might represent a Fifth Column."

"What are you talking about?" S'par countered.

"A general on Earth once said that as his four columns of troops approached a besieged city, a 'fifth column' of supporters inside the city would support him and undermine the government from within. Wasn't that your idea, S'par?"

"They're Vidiian!" S'par spat.

"I believe it was a Spanish civil war during the twentieth century and the city was Madrid," Seven commented. "You believe these Vidiians will join us and help us fight?"

"If they are prisoners as well, why not?"

"How can they be trusted?" S'par asked. She couldn't believe Chakotay was considering freeing them.

Seven moved to the controls. She turned to Chakotay, and he nodded. Seven opened the main door for the barracks. Several Vidiians stood on the other side. They were obviously not blind, staring intently at the two humans, one Klingon and Borg in front of them and the bodies of the Vidiian guards still on the floor. There eyes darted about the interior of the room. Suddenly, one of the Vidiians from the back moved forward. "Commander Chakotay?" she said.

S'par noticed a wave of recognition pass over Chakotay's face. "Doctor Pel," he replied. "We need your assistance. Will you help us?"

Denara Pel first looked at the other Vidiians, and then turned back to Chakotay. "Of course. Anything you need."

"There moving towards us!" Lemore called out.

"We have no time," Chakotay remarked and touched his comm badge. "Chakotay to Ak, beam down twenty phasers and prepare to beam up a group of Vidiians from the third barracks." He then turned to the Vidiians. "I need you to split into two groups. The first group will be beamed up to our ship with Doctor Pel and begin the process of restoring sight to the other prisoners." He turned to Denara. "We have some Vidiian handheld weapons on board; will you be able to do that?"

Denara nodded.

Chakotay returned his attention to the Vidiians as the phasers materialized at his side. "The other group will take a phaser and prepare to defend our position. We need to buy some time to give us the opportunity to transport all the prisoners to safety. You will take your orders from S'par."

Immediately, a few of the Vidiians stepped forward and picked up a phaser. S'par lifted her weapon, almost tempted to fire. A memory of a Maquis supply run came to mind. The Cardassians had disguised themselves as Bolian merchants. They would have killed the _Val Jean_'s crew right then if Chakotay's instinct hadn't sensed something was wrong. She trusted Chakotay, but that was a trust born from the memories of someone else. Did she trust Chakotay's judgement now?

"They're advancing and are now at the edge of the command center's field," Lemore called out. "They're making a gap in the field perimeter and preparing to move on our position."

All the phasers had been taken, and twenty Vidiians now stood by S'par's side. Seven also held her weapon, awaiting S'par's orders. S'par scanned the group of defenders before her, and they all looked back expectantly. She would not let them down. "We will stop the vermin in their tracks!" S'par shouted. "Listen to me and we will be victorious!" She moved towards Lemore and the rest followed. Chakotay and Minnik remained behind to continue the evacuation.

"They cannot be allowed to enter this compound," S'par began. "The approaching soldiers undoubtedly have reflective armor. Set your phasers to the maximum stun setting, that will extend their usable lifetime. When we open the door, we will take the fight to them. Lemore and I will move out first and discharge a concussion grenade, and the rest of you follow. Fan out to either side and put some distance between yourself and those around you. The last four out, stay by the door." S'par took something off her belt and Lemore did the same. "Keep them occupied. We only need to delay them for a few minutes." She turned to Lemore and the two nodded to each other, and then opened the door.

The grenades went off between the defenders and the Vidiian soldiers, giving the defenders time to exit the barracks complex and start laying down phaser fire. The soldiers were stunned and disorganized at first, but quickly regrouped. There appeared now to be closer to seventy of them, all wearing reflective armor. Even a phaser blast from _Phoenix_ wouldn't be able to stun them all. S'par reminded herself that they didn't need to kill the Vidiians, only delay them. Without armor for themselves, however, the odds were heavily stacked against them.

The Vidiian soldiers were still concentrated in a group by the gap in the command center field. Some, in fact, had yet to emerge from the field. "Concentrate your fire on the center of the group!" S'par called out. "Continuous fire if you can!"

Multiple phaser beams sliced through the darkness and converged on the group of soldiers. The soldiers armor stiffened and reflected or absorbed the phaser fire. At first, it appeared effective in holding them in position as they hunkered down to let their armor deflect the energy. Eventually, however individual soldiers moved away from the main group and started returning fire. Almost immediately, defenders started falling. Without the benefit of armor, the Vidiians in her small group were vulnerable. The Vidiian beside her suddenly fell to the ground, his right arm and much of his upper body disintegrated. He was dead instantly, a look of stunned surprise frozen on his face. Apparently the Vidiian soldiers weren't holding back.

"Take cover!" S'par called out. "Fire at any target when you can!"

Another concussion grenade from Lemore detonated close to the soldiers. S'par glanced to Lemore at the opposite end of their formation and saw him standing in the open, energy beams from the Vidiian weapons deflected by his Borg force field. She saw that Seven was also firing using two phasers, one in each hand. Vidiian weapons converged on her force field as well, but were being deflected for the time being. She smiled and pulled out the two remaining grenades she had and tossed them as far as she could towards the Vidiian line.

The battle raged on, but the defenders were seriously outmanned and outgunned. There was something spoken over the comm system, but the noise of the battle drowned out the sound. Suddenly, a torpedo streaked across the sky from above and detonated nearby. The ground shook violently sending S'par to the ground. She looked up to see if it had impacted the advancing soldiers, but their line remained intact. The torpedo had been meant for another target. S'par realized the command center's shield was now down. _Phoenix_ must have destroyed the final field generator.

As S'par stood, a Vidiian energy lance glanced off her right shoulder, sending her back to the ground. She screamed in frustration and blood oozed from the open wound. Looking across the field, she saw that Lemore and Seven were also down. Most of the Vidiian defenders lay in the field before her and only sporadic phaser blasts emanated from her small group. The soldiers continued to advance on their position, and there was little they could do to stop them now. Defeat was eminent.

"It is a good day to die!" S'par shouted and began to stand. Her head swam, but she intended to meet her fate with honor. She howled and lifted her weapon, but fell forward again. The loss of blood already too great to provide her the strength to proceed.

She had failed. She felt a terrible sense of despair. A sudden vision of the one she was to mate crossed through her mind. She didn't even know if he was still alive. Was he with the prisoners who were now evacuated to _Phoenix_? Was her death honorable enough to allow her entrance to Sto-vo-cor? Would a clone even be allowed entrance? She felt the cold hand of death upon her, but then, the noises of the battle began to fade. The faint tingling sensation of a transporter beam surrounded her. She opened her eyes with difficulty and was greeted with the imposing figure of Ak looming over her. She was able to smile faintly, before falling into unconsciousness.

#

"Multiple vessels on an intercept course," Saychek said calmly.

"Do we have everyone?" Janeway shouted from her command chair in the center of the bridge.

"Ak just beamed up the last of those near the barracks and all non-Vidiian lifeforms in the command compound."

"Let's hope that's all of them." Janeway replied and turned to her pilot. "Take us out of here Kizati. Maximum warp." She turned to Saychek and added. "Keep an eye on those ships following us."

Saychek examined the sensors more closely. "Captain, they don't appear to be following us. They are moving towards the stronghold. I detect weapons fire."

Janeway shook her head. "I guess others on this planet are taking advantage of the situation. Good. The Vidiian Fragment will have their hands full while we make our escape. Kizati, mask our warp signature trail and take us back to _Voyager_." Janeway pressed her comm badge, "Ak, what's the situation with the landing party?"

There was a long pause. "Chakotay here Captain," came the response. "It's a bit crazy down here. S'par, Lemore, and Seven were all hit. We're converting one of the quarters into a sickbay to treat the wounded. Lemore and Seven are unconscious but seem stable. It's hard to tell. Ak is placing them in Borg alcoves to regenerate and expedite their self repair. The Vidiian doctors are arriving to work on S'par and the other Vidiian survivors."

"How many of the Vidiian defenders did we lose?"

"I don't know. It's a mess here. We may have lost half of them, or more."

"Who are these Vidiians Commander?"

"The Doctor's friend, Denara Pel, is among them. They refused to join the Vidiian Fragment, and have been prisoners this whole time as well."

"What of the other prisoners we rescued?"

"I just spoke briefly to Lieutenants Paris and Ayala and asked them to make a count. Their vision has been restored and they'll report directly to you on the bridge when finished. When things settle down, we'll renew restoring the rest. I'll stay down here and help attend to the wounded and dead."

Janeway sighed heavily. "Very good Commander," she choked out before ending the transmission. She looked up to see Saychek by her side. Saychek touched her shoulder. In the past several weeks, Janeway had learned to see past his imposing Borg exterior, the wires that led from components on Saychek's shoulder to a device on the back of his head. He was not a mindless Borg drone, but a valued colleague. All she saw now was compassion and a desire of her Second Officer to comfort his Captain.

"Our attack and rescue was nearly flawless," Saychek commented. "Some casualties can hardly be avoided."

Janeway pursed her lips. "I know," she said. "It's just… hard, to lose anyone under your command. I don't even know how many of _Voyager_'s crew has survived these past six years."

Janeway moved over to Kizati at the pilot's workstation to monitor their progress. They were already at warp, but heading in a direction away from _Voyager_. Kizati was scanning the systems ahead, and looked up when Janeway approached.

"Captain?"

"Carry on Kizati. Just looking."

Kizati returned to her sensor analysis. After a time, the doors to the bridge opened and Lieutenants Paris and Ayala entered. Janeway hurried over. "It's good to see you both," she said. She started to reach out to shake their hands, but ended up giving the two of them a hug instead.

"It's good to be out," Paris responded and Ayala nodded. Paris glanced about the bridge, seeing both Saychek and Kizati, and added with a smile "even if it's on this Borg sphere."

Janeway looked about the bridge herself. "Don't be too quick to judge," she said. "_Phoenix_ is growing on me. It's a good ship. Now, give me your report."

Paris straightened and said, "all told, there are three hundred and twenty three of us."

Janeway raised her eyebrows, a bit taken aback. "I wouldn't think all of us could fit on the _Phoenix_," she replied.

"They're squeezed in down there," Paris chuckled. "Of those, there thirty-two Vidiians, one hundred fifty three from delta quadrant worlds, excluding Neelix of course, and one hundred thirty eight from _Voyager_, and that includes some additions."

"Additions?"

"Well, there are now four clones of the Klingon half of B'Elanna with us. B'Elanna and three others were beamed up from the stronghold's infirmary, and S'par of course." Tom glanced at Ayala before continuing. "And there are five children who were born in the intervening time."

Janeway looked down and did a quick mental calculation. "That means we've lost over a dozen _Voyager_ crew members in the past six years," she whispered.

Tom nodded and handed Captain Janeway a PADD. "Ayala and I compiled a complete _Voyager_ crew manifest here Captain," he said.

"Who did we lose?"

Paris averted his eyes, reluctant to speak. Ayala rarely spoke anyway and also looked away. "Tuvok is gone," Paris finally said. "Soon after the escape attempt, he and Lieutentant Carey were taken away and we never saw them again. Punishment. Some were killed during the escape attempt. Ensign Kaplan and Lieutenant Suder were both killed in mining accidents. Kes is gone, she grew old and ..." Paris' voice trailed off.

Janeway placed her free hand on Tom's shoulder. "It's OK Tom. It's OK." She breathed in and exhaled quickly, as if to purge herself of these thoughts. She couldn't change the past, and she needed to lead them all into the future. Part of that leadership was to stay strong. "Three hundred and twenty three," she repeated. "We won't all fit on _Voyager_ and _Phoenix_for an extended time, that's for sure."

"What are our options?" Paris asked, looking to Janeway for guidance.

Janeway nodded and turned to think. What were their options? The decision, whatever it was, couldn't be made unilaterally. The demons of her decision at the Caretaker's array stirred in her memory. Just as she had Chakotay and Saychek on _Phoenix_, and her command staff on _Voyager_, she needed to assemble the leadership of this extended group and discuss alternatives. "The two of you go to the Vidiians and have them pick one or two representatives. Contact who's left in _Voyager'_s command staff and have them survey the _Voyager_ crew. Also, see about selecting a representative group from the other freed prisoners. When we reach _Voyager_." Janeway turned to Kizati and asked, "Kizati, what's our estimated time to _Voyager_?"

"Twelve hours Captain," Kizati replied. "I'm heading for a nearby red giant now and plan to mask our warp trail in the star's extended atmosphere and corona."

"Very good," Janeway said and returned her attention to Tom and Ayala. "Organize everyone to get the bulk of us over to _Voyager_, and then have the representatives you pick meet in _Voyager_'s ready room in say fourteen hours."

"Yes ma'am."

Tom and Ayala turned and left the bridge. When they were gone, Saychek, who had been listening in, moved up beside Captain Janeway.

"Three hundred and twenty three," Janeway said again. "What are we going to do with them all?" She turned and noticed Saychek rubbing his chin in thought. Her eyes lit up at the realization that Saychek had an idea. She waited patiently for him to divulge his thoughts.

"It occurs to me," he finally began. "It makes little sense for us to continue the voyage to the alpha quadrant."

"I don't think many of us from _Voyager_ share that sentiment," Janeway retorted.

"You misunderstand Captian. The goal of returning to the alpha quadrant shouldn't be abandoned, but with the Borg sphere now in our possession, all we require is a working trans-warp drive and the voyage back to Earth would be relatively straight forward and quick."

"What are you getting at?"

"It is more likely we will find what we need to construct a trans-warp drive for _Phoenix_ here in the delta quadrant rather than heading to the alpha quadrant."

Janeway eyes opened wide. Saychek's logic was irrefutable, as it always was. With the _Phoenix_, they could investigate the nearby space for additional Borg derelicts. With any luck, a working trans-warp drive could be acquired. In the meantime, however, they would need a base of operations where _Voyager_ could be repaired and the bulk of the extended crew could remain. A thought occurred to her, and she suspected Saychek was thinking along the same lines. "Any thoughts on where we might hold out as we initiate this search?" she asked with a smile.

Saychek smiled back. "There's a nice little planet I know of nearby. Uninhabited, and usually avoided by the species resident to this sector due to a nasty little virus in its ecosystem."

#

Author's note: Thank you scifiromance and Rono777 for your reviews of the last chapter and those who have followed/favorited this story. One last chapter to go – should be posted within a few days time.


	8. Transformations

# Chapter 8 – Transformations

_Voyager_ was being tractored by _Phoenix_ back to New Earth. The journey, which had only taken a few days when following _Voyager_'s warp core signature in the other direction, was now going to take a few weeks since they were limited to warp two. It was crowded on both ships, with many having to double or triple up in the available quarters, but all three hundred and twenty three were eventually accommodated. Captain Janeway took command of _Voyager_ for the trip and left Chakotay in command of _Phoenix_. To allow their quarters on _Phoenix_ to be used by others, Seven and Minnik had moved to use the regeneration alcoves in Chakotay's quarters. The work in engineering was substantially increased, as the warp engine strained to manage with _Voyager_ in tow, but with the crews of both ships swelled in numbers, they had all the help they needed. In fact, Seven and Minnik had been able to train some of these new crew members to take over for a short time to allow themselves time to plan for their futures on New Earth.

Seven and Minnik entered _Voyager_'s sickbay together. The Doctor had just discharged the last of the Vidiian patients and so it was nearly deserted, a stark contrast to _Phoenix_ and the rest of _Voyager_. The Doctor was speaking with one of the Vidiians and turned as they approached. Seven recognized the Doctor's companion immediately. "Ah, Seven, Minnik," the Doctor said. "I'd like to introduce you to Doctor Denara Pel."

Seven extended her hand. A human greeting, she knew, but Doctor Pel understood and clasped her hand in return. "We briefly met in the stronghold," Seven said. "We didn't get a chance, however, to meet properly. The Doctor has spoken to us about you."

Denara smiled. "I've spent the last five years worrying about what might have happened to Shmullus. As it turns out, _Voyager_ was untouched in all that time."

"Doctor Shmullus?" Minnik said with a smile. "Why didn't you ever tell us you had a name?"

The Doctor appeared embarrassed. The intricacy of his holographic program and sub-routines always amazed Seven. Denara reached out and touched his holographic shoulder, and Seven wondered idly if there was a sub-routine that somehow identified the contact and translated that information into the Doctor's holo-matrix consciousness to provide the sensation of physical touch. What did it matter? Denara considered the Doctor sentient and cared for him, and he obviously cared for Denara in return.

"I want to thank you both," Denara said, turning to Seven and Minnik. "From all of the Vidiians you rescued. We are greatly in your debt."

"Many Vidiians died defending our position at the stronghold, and so we need to thank you as well," Seven replied matter of factly. "Besides, you should really be thanking Commander Chakotay. It was he who decided to free the Vidiian prisoners as well as our own. If the decision had been mine at the time, I might have chosen differently. Fortunately, Chakotay was in command and made the correct decision."

Minnik laughed. "Don't let her fool you," she said. "She and Chakotay are more alike than she lets on. She would have freed you once she realized you were being held prisoner as well. Only S'par might have hesitated."

"S'par is passionate with her opinions," Seven countered. "But I assure you, she is quite comfortable with the Vidiians who are with us. She has been equally passionate about defending the Vidiians to the other former prisoners." Seven turned to Denara. "Have the Vidiians decided to stay and join us on New Earth?"

Denara nodded. "It was a unanimous vote. We all want to distance ourselves from our past and other Vidiians and to start fresh."

"Apparently the _Voyager_ crew has also unanimously voted to settle on New Earth," Seven replied. "The desire is to perhaps develop a trans-warp drive at some point to make the journey to the alpha quadrant in days instead of years, and that can be done equally well from New Earth."

"How about the other prisoners?" the Doctor inquired. Being restricted to _Voyager_'s sickbay, he was often out of the loop on the latest developments.

"There are a few who wish to return to their planet of origin," Minnik said. "Captain Janeway has assured them that, when we are able, we will escort them back. In the meantime, they are welcome to stay with us on New Earth."

"So I take it you plan to stay?" Denara asked.

Minnik looked surprised. "Of course."

Seven turned to the Doctor. Small talk, as it was called, was fine, but she wished to discuss the reason for their visit to sickbay before having to return to _Phoenix_. "Doctor, we are here to schedule the procedure to remove all our Borg implants. There are adequately trained personnel to handle _Phoenix_'s engineering responsibilities. The Captain has given us permission, and we would like to start the process as soon as possible."

The Doctor nodded solemnly and Denara appeared confused at his sudden change in his manner. "Shmullus, what's wrong?"

The Doctor turned to Seven as if to ask permission to discuss these matters with Denara. Seven sensed this and said, "you can say anything you wish in front of Doctor Pel."

The Doctor turned back to Denara. "I'm confident I can remove all of Minnik's Borg components without difficulty," he began. "In Seven's case, however, since she was assimilated as a child, I fear her operation will be risky and recovery will be long and difficult."

"Because of the required skeletal rebuilding and muscle grafting?" Denara asked.

The Doctor nodded. "I've been trying to convince her to retain some of her Borg implants, but Seven is insisting on having everything removed."

"How do you plan on regenerating the eye?" Denara asked.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "It is not only the eye, but the optic nerve as well. I'm uncertain anything can done for that."

Denara looked surprised. "I see," she said quietly and then turned to face Seven and Minnik to examine them more closely. They all waited patiently as she seemed to be considering something. "We've had some experience with Borg technology," Denara finally said. "Would you consider having our Vidiian doctors examine you?"

Seven glanced at the Doctor and then Minnik. "Of course doctor," she replied.

Denara smiled. "Then please delay the procedure for a short time and allow me to consult with some of my colleagues. Let us see if we can return the favor and do something more for you."

Seven felt a curious sensation of anticipation. The Vidiians were far more advanced medically than the Federation. What did Doctor Pel have in mind? She glanced to Minnik and then back to Denara. "We eagerly await your input," she said.

#

Seven lay on a biobed in Voyager's sickbay and a Vidiian doctor held an instrument above her. Disconcertingly, it was essentially what they considered a Vidiian weapon, one that could transport a healthy organ from another's body or induce blindness as done to the prisoners in the stronghold. After scanning the full length of her body, he turned to the Doctor and Denara who were both standing beside him. "I think it can be done," he said simply. "It will take a little more time, but I see no unsurmountable issues."

Chakotay moved closer to the biobed and Seven sat up and shifted off the bed to stand beside him. "You can remove all the Borg technology?" Seven asked.

The Vidiian doctor nodded.

"And she won't have a long and painful recovery?" Chakotay added.

The Vidiian doctor nodded again. "We can clone her existing healthy bone and muscle and graft it in place with our bio-neural transport device," he said. "The tissue will essentially be fully formed and optimally conditioned immediately. Regenerating the eye and optic nerve will be a little trickier, but we should be able to take care of that as well at the same time."

Chakotay turned to Seven and smiled. "Extraordinary," he said.

"There are still some risks, but I believe they can be managed and are minimal," the Vidiian Doctor continued. "We can proceed whenever you are ready."

"I am ready now," Seven said. "Let us start immediately."

Chakotay furrowed his brow. "Before we begin," he said. "I'd like to discuss something in private with you." He looked up, and the three doctors understood immediately and moved off out of ear shot to another part of sickbay. It was just the five of them in sickbay and so Seven and Chakotay were alone.

"What is it?" Seven asked with some concern.

Chakotay hesitated. "I've been giving it a lot of thought over the past few days," he began, "and, well, this was of course before we knew the risks were going to be minimal…" He smiled nervously and curiously lacked his typical confidence.

Seven tilted her head confused. "I'm uncertain what you are getting at Chakotay."

"Well, I was thinking, ah, I had convinced myself it would be best if we could formalize our relationship before you underwent the operation."

"What are you asking?"

Chakotay laughed and shook his head. "This is not quite going as smoothly as I had hoped. But, if you'll have me, I would very much like for us to be married."

Seven looked at Chakotay incredulously. "Now?"

Chakotay shrugged, but nodded his head with a smile.

"Do you not wish to wait until I appear more human?" Seven lifted her hands up before her, as if to show him the Borg exoskeleton armor that covered them for the first time. The pale skin that lacked the human color of life. The cold and indifferent Borg components.

Chakotay reached forward and grabbed hold of both her arms. "I do not wish to take a chance, even a minimal chance. It's never been about what you look like Seven. You and I'm sure everyone else knows how I feel about you. I would prefer to be bonded in marriage before you undergo this operation. My only concern is that it is your desire as well."

Chakotay was still smiling widely, and Seven couldn't help but smile back in return. Always an incongruent look for a Borg drone, but of course she was not a Borg drone anymore. Despite the technology throughout her body and even within her brain, she was no longer Borg, but human. She was a human female who was deeply in love with the human male in front of her; the one individual in the whole of space-time who completed her. Of course she approved of his proposal. She took one step closer to Chakotay. "I will comply," she said softly.

Chakotay released one of Seven's arms and tapped his comm badge. "Commander Chakotay to Captain Janeway."

"Go ahead Commander."

"Kathryn, if you could come down to sickbay, Seven and I need you to do something for us."

"I'll be right there."

Chakotay then pulled Seven closer ignoring the Borg technology, the armor and metal latticework of sensors on her arms and hands. He carefully moved in, closer than he had ever been before, and pressed his lips lightly against hers. Deep within her, the human who so desperately wished to purge herself of everything Borg felt the stirring of those truly powerful human desires and emotions once more.

#

Stardate 58343.1 – MaquisRange, New Earth

Seven stepped onto the porch and looked out over the lake. The forest of evergreens stretched out on both sides, and the distant peak of Mount B'Elanna loomed to the northeast. The rest of the MaquisRange, somewhat appropriately, surrounded their valley where they had chosen to build. Chakotay liked to call it a cabin, but in reality it was nothing more than a Star Fleet modular shelter. They were making some additions, however, like the recent fireplace in the main living area and this porch and swing here at the front entrance. The chill of the night still lingered in their cozy valley and there was a slight breeze coming down from the higher peaks. She brought the mug of tea she was holding closer to her face to feel the warmth before settling onto the swing. The smell of jasmine and lemon from the mug intermingled with the pine of the outdoors and she took a sip. Minnik had been sending her various creations, and Seven decided this was her best tea blend yet. Although there were now over a hundred other humans in the New Earth settlement, she found she remained closest to Minnik. They identified with each other more due to their shared experiences.

Near the lake was a clearing big enough for a shuttle, the only way to access their cabin since the magnetoelectric activity in this hemisphere made transporters unreliable and dangerous. The night before Seven and Chakotay had lain out under the stars in that clearing by the lake. New Earth's system had a higher concentration of dust than usual, and so the night time display of meteors was always spectacular. They had also been treated to an aurora display, again more common on New Earth due to the enhanced magnetic field of the planet. The aurora from the night before was still active, and Seven could detect a hint of green glow to the north just at the edge of the cabin roof despite the imminent sunrise.

A flock of ducks glided in silently over the forest from the east and coasted to a stop on the lake before her. Seven recognized them as Mallards. Not the Mallards of Old Earth of course, but a species native to New Earth. Ayala had started a systematic identification and naming of the birds of New Earth and had enlisted her and Chakotay's help in cataloging the types and frequency in the mountains of the MaquisRange. He and S'Par had spent a week with them at the cabin the previous month, but the two of them were now exploring the wildlands of the southern continent. A whole world awaited the colonists to be explored.

Chakotay and Seven's cabin was not completely within the magnetoelectric storm zone that made communication impossible, but close enough that contact with _Voyager_ and the colony settlement near the Borg cube crash site was restricted to a few hours each evening. Chakotay had thought it would be nice to have that privacy. It was just her and Chakotay in their small cabin overlooking their private lake. A virgin forest extended on all sides, and surrounding that were mountain peaks, many above treeline. It was early fall in this hemisphere, and so most of the peaks were covered with a blanket of snow.

She smiled and took another sip of tea. It was perfect. She couldn't imagine feeling more comfortable. The Mallards began splashing about on the lake, and she idly started counting them. Within the group she discovered an interloper. Their holoimager was on the seat beside her for just these occasions, so she placed down her mug of tea, picked it up and zoomed in for a closer look. Slightly larger than the Mallard, the new bird also had a darker bill and slightly metallic blue tint to its nape. She had never seen its species before, nor was it contained in Ayala's preliminary Birds of New Earth field guide. She took some images before switching back out for her mug of tea.

Seven breathed in deeply and let out a sigh. Their time in the cabin was coming to an end, at least for a short while. Chakotay said to everyone they were still on their honeymoon, but of course it had been months since they arrived on New Earth. Saychek, the newly elected governor of New Earth, had asked Chakotay and Seven to return to the main settlement to help in his administration of the planet. There was a great deal going on. Neelix's ship had been found about the planet where _Voyager_ was discovered. Neelix, and a few others, were planning a return to the system where the stronghold was located to ascertain what had happened and also investigate possible trading opportunities. The Borg wreckage was being surveyed for possible construction of another sphere, with the rest of the refined metals being used to construct the settlement itself. Fields were being transformed into farmland to feed the small population and a nascent economy was being established. _Voyager_ was at the center of the settlement, serving as a ready made capital building and medical facility. Captain Janeway stayed mostly aboard the _Phoenix_ with its new crew in orbit, but also oversaw the repairs of _Voyager_. Eventually, _Voyager_ would return to space and be the flagship of New Earth's fleet with Kathryn the fleet commander.

Before returning to the main colony settlement, though, she and Chakotay were going to go backpacking into the MaquisRange and explore a little further their little corner of New Earth. They had already replicated the required gear: a small tent, sleeping bags and pads, and the backpacks themselves that would carry all their gear and food. Their plan was to leave sometime in the morning after a good breakfast. It was a steady uphill climb to the pass to the south. They had made this journey many times before and would follow a game trail all the way. It was still early in the season, so the snow level was above this elevation. After that, it was into the unknown. Their goal was to get back below treeline and set up camp in the valley beyond before dark.

"There you are," Chakotay said, coming out onto the porch. He was carrying a blanket that could cover them both. New Earth's sun was just peaking over the mountains to the east. Chakotay moved the holoimager and settled down next to Seven to enjoy the view with her and lifted the blanket over them like a cocoon.

Seven leaned in closer to snuggle up against Chakotay. She could feel his warmth as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her even closer. He gazed out over the lake. She of course didn't know specifically what he was thinking, and yet she did know him. They were separate minds, and yet one. Not the joining of minds as in the Borg Hive Mind, but a more intimate joining that required work to get to know the other and effort to understand and love them for all their gifts and faults. What a wonderful feeling. She breathed in deeply to smell the pine of the forest near their cabin. The taste of jasmine and lemon lingered on her lips. The sounds of the ducks splashing on the lake and the wind through the pines reached them. She couldn't remember a time when she was more content and happy.

She finally felt fully human.

#

THE END

Author's Note: Thanks to scifiromance, lizzy74656, and Ladybug Jess for your reviews of the last chapter (and Rono777, Djsmith, lmr0211 and Alaster Boneman for previous chapter reviews). Hope everyone enjoyed this entry in the "Alternatives" series. And thanks again to all who have reviewed and followed/favorited any of my stories (particularly StanaTorv and KristaPetal who I neglected to single out before but who gave such nice reviews to previous stories – hope you're still enjoying them). We'll pick up again with the next "Alternatives" story sometime in the New Year, or perhaps even a one-shot back in the "That Good Night" universe. Happy Holidays everyone…


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